The Call of the Light
by Moongrim
Summary: ("L'Appel de la Lumière" - translation by Nancylovesreylo and Epne). Post TLJ – Rey is now part of the Resistance and Kylo Ren is the Supreme Leader of the First Order. Will their paths cross anew? Will the Force once again be able to unite these two beings for whom everything seems opposed?
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer:_

_The main characters in this fic belong to Lucasfilm and Disney. I'm not a specialist on the "Star Wars" universe so apologies in advance if fans of the saga find inconsistencies or mistakes in my work. I want to thank Sonia and Elopez7228 very much for their support and valuable advices. Girls, you're brilliant_

_And of course the amazing EPNE who translates this story from French to English. She's doing a wonderful job and I just want to say: thank you, thank you, thank you ! YOU ARE THE BEST!_

_This fic was originally written in French by Moongrim and has been translated to English by epne. If you're interested in checking out the original French text it can be found here on ffnet._

_If you like my fic, don't hesitate to leave us a comment, they're always a pleasure to read_

OoooooooO

**PROLOGUE **

**17 days after the battle of Crait:**

Rey watched on in awe as thousands of blue beams fired around the cockpit through the _Millennium Falcon's _windows. Cross-galaxy jumps through light speed were fascinating.

Stuck on Jakku, she had never experienced anything remotely close to this kind of travel. Wearing her old pilot's helmet at night, eyes fixed on the endless dunes, she had imagined herself hundreds of times at the controls of an X-wing fighter or better yet, a J-type Naboo Star Skiff. But flying at light speed was so cool. In the span of just a few months, she had travelled further than she ever could have imagined in all of her fifteen years on the desert planet.

Chewie and R2-D2 were very quiet and Rey was able to lose herself in old memories.

Today, they were taking risks. They had all known that when they embarked on the ship, but the danger seemed palpable now, undeniable.

"I double checked the cooling system, it looks fine. I think it should hold despite the rattling."

Finn broke the silence as he joined them in the cockpit. "I still can't believe we're flying around in the most wanted ship in the galaxy heading straight for an ancient rebel base that's probably crawling with First Order soldiers." He muttered as he took a seat in the back. "I'm sure they'll be thrilled we're just throwing ourselves right to the wolves."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ship exited hyperspace with a lurch. Facing them was an ivory planet flanked by three moons the colour of ash.

Rey huffed out a breath as she programed the descent through the planet's atmosphere. "We don't have the choice, and you know it. Besides, according to Leia's informant, the site's deserted."

The Wookie growled while R2-D2's stridulations confirmed what the young woman had just said. Finn suddenly felt claustrophobic in his seat, cramped, and uncomfortable.

_Why hadn't he stayed safely back at their new shelter?_

After the confrontation with First Order troops on Crait, and the unexpected rescue of what remained of the Resistance, the _Millennium Falcon_ had taken refuge on Arbra. The planet was situated in the confines of the Outer Rim and housed an ancient abandoned rebel base. The northern hemisphere was populated entirely by Hoojibs, small, but very smart quadruped mammals that were conveniently allied with the Resistance. Arbra didn't interest the First Order in any way since it was poor in resources and consisted mostly of archipelagos that disallowed for the construction of the types of large buildings that Snoke was fond of.

It was the perfect place to rebuild the Rebellion.

Old A-wings and a few transport shuttles were parked in the hangars and the command post still had everything they needed to continue broadcasting encrypted distress signals across the galaxy. The base drew its energy from the telluric force of the crystals lining the mouth of an immense cave on the side of a mountain located on the largest island on the planet. Unfortunately, the rebels had quickly discovered that the batteries used to store that energy were failing. Procuring the necessary parts to get them back into working order was imperative so General Organa had been forced to send teams out to recover the material from other abandoned rebel bases. Rey had volunteered and Finn, of course, had followed her.

"Echo Base has been abandoned for years! Do you honestly think that imperial troops didn't bother to search the place from top to bottom after they drove the rebels out?" Finn demanded.

"Leia said that each resistance base has an annex a kilometer away from the main site. The rebellion didn't have the time to take everything out with them when they left Hoth and I don't think that the Empire or the First Order ever could have found the annex. So, I choose to believe that everything is still there and still intact after all this time."

The _Millennium Falcon_ drew closer to the surface and they could finally see the ice planet's impressive landscape. Before they'd left, C-3PO had told them about the Rebellion's short stay on Hoth in the time of the Empire and about the snow storms. Today the Force had to be on their side though because the snow-covered peaks of the planet glittered in the sunlight. In spite of the breathtaking spectacle, Rey felt her throat tighten. The first time she'd ever seen snow had been on _Starkiller_, grey under the moonlight and so cold against her skin… Just like Ben's gaze…

She closed her eyes for a moment and let out an extended breath. The heart wrenching truth was something that she still had trouble admitting to herself. _Kylo Ren. It was Kylo Ren now_. He had chosen his side, and so had she.

It had been almost three weeks since the last thirty members of the Resistance had landed on Arbra. They had tended to their wounds, wept over their dead, comforted each other and shared in the unwavering desire to keep fighting. All together, like a family. And Rey had never felt so supported in her life. But the gazes of the survivors, full of hope, had unsettled her more than she could explain. Even now, people looked at her like she was someone special, unique, and she was disconcerted by it.

Because what was she anyways?

Just a scavenger who had discovered an ability to manipulate the Force, that's all...

She could understand why they were so curious about her. She would be too. They knew she had spent time with Luke Skywalker on Ahch-To. Maybe they thought that she'd become a true Jedi in that time… But no, she hadn't.

_You come from nothing… You are nothing… But not to me. _

The deep, unsettling, voice of Han Solo's son echoed endlessly inside her head…

But the bond that had brought them together for a time had finally been broken. Maybe Snoke had ultimately told them the truth; he was responsible for the connection they had shared. The last time she had seen the Knight of Ren through their force bond, he had been kneeling in the middle of the abandoned command post on Crait. Sure, Snoke had been killed at the Knight's own hands hours earlier, but the connection had to have been due to something like telepathic residue… Kylo had stared, pleaded silently with her again.

_Don't go. Join me._

Her heart had broken. She had believed that she could bring him back. Back to the Resistance, back to his loved ones, back to the Light… She had closed the ramp on his dark silhouette with an air of finality, and since then… Nothing.

"Launch the surface scan, Chewie." Rey ordered, attempting to chase the painful memories away.

A loud beep filled the cockpit followed by an exasperated groan from the Wookie.

"What is it?" Finn leaned forward to fit his head between the two pilot seats.

"DWARRGHHHH," Chewie grumbled before punching the radar screen. One bright spot appeared followed by more and more until a dozen sat ominously in the middle of the area they were heading towards. Suddenly, the screen went completely black before lighting up again, empty.

"No signs of life detected." The scanner's artificial voice announced.

Finn rolled his eyes. "This thing is completely broken! How this old ship even stays in the air, I'll never know."

"It's worth remembering that _THIS SHIP_ saved us all on Crait. Stop worrying Finn, the First Order would never bother monitoring an old base like this, I'm sure of it."

"You're not sure of anything! They could've left lookout droids."

"DWARGHHARGHH!"

"Oh, it's fine Chewie! I'm not bringing us bad luck! The decision to come here was just really, really, bad in the first place!"

"RWOOOGHARGHH!"

"What was that? An insult?" Finn pointed a finger at the nose of the Wookie, daring him to reply. Rey settled a gentle hand on the young man's arm, pulling it down and away from Chewie.

"I'm sure that Poe is looking after Rose, don't worry." She said, perfectly aware that Finn's nervousness had nothing to do with the radar failure. "Their meeting with the emissary of Naboo will go well."

The former stormtrooper pulled away from her and settled back against his seat. "Why are you talking about Rose? I'm not worried about her; I'm worried about us!" He spluttered. "Rose knows how to take care of herself, she's very, very, capable, and brave, and reckless… Yeah maybe too reckless… And hot headed sometimes, that's her problem, it'll get her in trouble one of these days because most of the time she-"

"Okay Finn!" The young woman interrupts. "Breathe…"

Rey exchanged a knowing look with Chewie and smiled. She noticed that, in just a few weeks, Rose had become someone who mattered deeply to Finn. The mission that Dameron and Rose were on in Endor ran the risk of taking a turn for the worse too. The First Order had sympathisers and spies everywhere; even amongst the people of Naboo. And just like them, Poe and Rose weren't immune to traps and set ups.

For several long moments the cockpit was filled only by the soft purr of the engine, until Finn spoke again when a giant cave came into view on the flank of a mountain along the horizon.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"That's Echo Base," Rey announced. "The main hangar."

"So, where's the annex?"

Rey pushed the throttle.

"I plugged the coordinates into the nav system before leaving. It's further north. Let's see if we can't find everything we need to rebuild a big beautiful rebel base on Arbra."

"Once a scavenger…"

Finn shook his head fondly and Rey flashed him a grin.

"Always scavenger. It's in my blood…"

OoooooO

The heat from the full-body fleece suit that Rey was decked out in felt like a blessing against the frigid Hoth air. She made a mental note to thank Chewie profusely when she got back to the ship for his foresight. Finn and Rey worked as quickly as they could in the cold and eventually succeeded in prising open the armoured airlock with some effort, blasters at the ready. Rey would've much preferred to have Luke's saber in hand, but the thing was well and truly broken. With no idea how to even begin fixing it, the blaster had to do for now. With the _Millennium Falcon_ not far behind them, out of the way on a rocky outcropping, they entered the annex.

The two of them managed to start a small emergency generator they found at the entrance of the underground complex and it flooded the tunnel with light. With careful steps they made their way through the corridor. The walls and ceiling was covered in a layer of frost.

Who could've ever predicted that one day the sand dweller would find herself on a planet like this?

Before becoming a scavenger, Rey worked at the tavern in Niima. Some nights, she sat in a quiet corner, out of sight, and listened for stories of time's past. Adventures told of Rebellion heroes and their struggles against Palpatine's Empire, stories about Leia Organa, Han Solo, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, the Jedi, the battle of Endor, and the Death Star. Stuck on the desert planet, her imagination had allowed her to time travel. It took her back years and years to a time when she could be a pilot for the Rebellion, fighting for freedom and justice alongside the main characters of the stories. And now, regardless of what Ben had said, she didn't have to imagine, she really was a part of it all. Everything was real, the only difference was that in reality the name of the Empire was the First Order.

"Down there!" Finn's voice gave Rey a start as it pulled her from her thoughts.

Once he had her attention, he nodded towards the tunnel to their left. They made their through the doorway only to emerge in a vast storage space.

"It's really here!" Rey exclaimed, delighted.

The room was piled high with various devices: generators, communicators, spare parts, everything they'd hoped for. In the back, dozens of new blasters lined shelves upon shelves and Finn eyed them appreciatively. Rey's head spun as she calculated the number of portions all of this could get her on Jakku.

Finn and Rey looked at each other with wide eyes and equally wide smiles.

"Take everything you can carry," Rey said with fervour.

By the end of the fifth round trip from the annex to the _Millennium Falcon,_ the storage room was almost completely bare. The only things left were outdated devices. There were other rooms but all they ended up finding was furniture and defective equipment.

After a final sweep of the complex, Rey found herself standing in the main corridor once again, this time stopped in front of an evacuation plan hanging on the wall.

"I think we're all good here," Finn said, coming up next to her. "We should head out, no need to tempt fate."

"Look," Rey pointed to the evacuation plan, "there's a tunnel that connects the annex to the main hangar."

"And?" the young man asked, eyebrows raised.

"Can't we just take a look? There could be more stuff worth salvaging from there too."

"Or there could be First Order droids waiting for us!"

"Let's go Finn, look, we just take this tunnel and then we're at the old command post."

"This isn't a good idea, Rey."

"Finn…"

"Rey…"

"Well I'm going."

Finn threw his arms up. "Why don't we just take the _Falcon_ to the main hangar then if you're so intent on throwing yourself into the arms of the First Order! At least then we'd have real guns to protect ourselves with instead of these puny little blasters! Oh right, I forgot," he banged his forehead with the flat of his hand dramatically. "I'm talking to a real live Jedi to whom the secrets of the Force aren't secrets anymore !"

It was cruel to play that particular card, but Rey deserved it. Her morbid curiosity was going to get them killed! He was her best friend. He would do anything for her, even stupid, dangerous things, but now Rey was just abusing the hold she had over him; seeking out trouble deliberately.

The young woman rolled her eyes and took a wilful step towards the corridor in response.

"You are as stubborn as a Gortal*!" Finn sulked before following his friend down the hallway towards the main base.

OoooooO

"If you keep sticking to me like this, I'm going to end up with a blaster shot between the shoulder blades!" Rey hissed through her teeth.

"I'm covering your back!"

"I need space, go, shoo!" Rey whispered waving him away with a hand until Finn reluctantly took a couple of steps back.

After a good ten minutes of walking through icy corridor after icy corridor they finally made it to a heavily armoured door.

"Ta da! There is it! Good game! I knew it would be loc…"

Rey turned towards her friend and pointed at him with one finger to cut him and his whining off. Then, she turned back towards the door and took a deep breath.

_If I can lift rocks surely I can open doors too._

The young woman raised her arm and held out her open palm in front of the metal handle. Finn watched on without saying a word. He had to admit that seeing her on Crait, surrounded by hundreds of massive floating rocks, had certainly made an impression on him. His best friend was a Jedi, and he could scarcely believe it. Even though she had told them—him, Poe, and Rose—that Luke hadn't had time to teach her how to really use her powers, she had still managed to get the upper hand on Kylo Ren in a duel, could move all sorts of things with her mind alone, and bend the will of others to her own… If she wasn't a full-blown Jedi, at the very least she was the best of the best in terms of rookie one.

The door in front of them started to quiver under Rey's steady concentration. Finn held his breath in anticipation as Rey waved her fingers at it as if ordering the invisible lock to yield to her mental injunctions. After only a few seconds of this, the door rattled loudly before sliding open and into the partition.

Finn placed a steadying hand on Rey's shaking arm. "Are you all good?" He asked gently.

The young woman heaved out a few heavy breathes before reassuring Finn with a nod.

The pair then advanced on the open door backup generator's power evidently didn't extend to this part of the base and the room in front of them was as black as pitch. Their flashlights cut through the darkness, highlighting the ravaged state of the command post. Every single screen in the room was broken, completely unsalvageable.

"There's no way we can keep going in the dark like this!"

Finn was right. The base did look empty but everything seemed completely ransacked and trashed by Empire soldiers.

"The infirmary!" Rey exclaimed suddenly. "We might be able to find some bacta or other medical supplies to take with us."

Finn nodded in response and Rey was grateful that he didn't complain this time. They moved a little further into the command post, and after inspecting several corridors, they finally found the treatment room. A bacta tank sat next to the entrance, but the glass at the bottom was broken and it was completely empty; not a single drop of the precious liquid remained.

All of a sudden, Rey clutched Finn's arm. Her flashlight lit the ground and the young man looked down to see what had caught her attention. Blood smeared the layer of frost at their feet and drew two thin red streaks that led to the back of the room.

The two young rebels then noticed the pile of black clothes lying on the table in front of them.

They were not alone.

Everything happened very quickly after that.

The unmistakable sound of a crackling energy source tore through the silence and a scarlet glow suddenly came to life in the dark. The light from the saber came from their left, near the room's second exit. At the sound, Rey seemed to come to life. Both her and Finn pivoted with synchronized movements to face the intruder.

Acting on pure instinct, they pointed their blasters towards the infernal light.

Impossible. It was impossible.

Kylo Ren stood a few meters behind what was once an operating table.

Finn felt his mouth go dry and his brain was suddenly sent spinning into overdrive. In a split second, he detailed and analyzed the enemy, and came up with the best possible plan of attack. His stormtrooper training, ingrained in him from before he could remember, kicked in.

Kylo Ren was in bad shape. With one hand pressed up against his ribs, he couldn't seem to staunch whatever wound he had there, the red spot soaking through the pilot suit he was wearing in place of his usual black garb growing larger and larger. His right cheekbone was swollen and purple, his lower lip was split harshly, and the arm holding his saber trembled, just lightly, but enough for Finn to take stock of it. Several empty bacta patches littered the ground at his feet and he stood hunched in a way that made it look like he was having a hard time even staying upright. He looked like a cornered animal, surprised, but ready for anything.

Rey stared at Kylo. And Kylo stared back at her with an indescribable gleam in his eye. For a moment Finn almost had the unpleasant feeling he was intruding on something private, something he was not meant to see.

Time stopped in the small infirmary. The only sounds in the room came from their three laboured breaths and the sizzling of Kylo's lightsaber. The air became so thick that filling their oxygen-hungry lungs required a considerable amount of effort. Even Finn could feel it… The sudden intensification… A sort of tangible flow of energy that invaded the room and throbbed like the living entity between Rey and the monster in front of them.

"Ben…"

Rey's voice acted like a trigger, kickstarting Finn into action. He fired several blaster rounds at Kylo Ren while grabbing the young woman by the back of her suit and pulling her behind him.

The Knight of Ren raised his sword to deflect the shots and they ricocheted off of his blade before hitting the ceiling and dislodging fragments of it. Blocks of ice and rock fell between him and his attackers, shrouding him in a protective cloud of white dust. Then, without giving Finn any time to stop him, Kylo waved a hand to open the door next to him, he rushed through the exit before closing it in the same way.

The bastard was getting away.

Finn stumbled over the scattered debris and threw himself at the now locked door.

"Rey!" he shouted for her help.

But Rey was motionless, a blank look on her face, as if she had just seen a ghost.

OoooooO

_*Gortal: an animal straight from my imagination that looks like a mule._


	2. PART ONE- chapter 1

_Do you wonder why and how Kylo ended up in this situation on Hoth? OK ... So let's discover it together._

**PART ONE - CHAPTER 1**

**Four days after the battle of Crait - The**_** Finalizer**_**, First Order interstellar cruiser.**

Kylo Ren was standing in front of the large bay windows staring off with an unreadable gaze into the vastness of space. Hands folded behind his back he listened distractedly as Hux prattled on behind him.

"The_ Supremacy_ is completely unsalvageable; restoration isn't an option. We lost at least eight thousand men when the vessel was damaged. Not to mention the destruction of several battleships due to the shock waves, and that's on top of all of the men and ships we lost to the rebels on Crait."

The new Supreme Leader could hear the thinly veiled hostility in his subordinate's pinched voice and turned to face him. The latter strove to maintain a neutral face, and he succeeded in it, but his voice betrayed him.

"We're vulnerable. We need to strengthen our stormtrooper numbers and begin the construction of new ships immediately. As you well know, we also lost Captain Phasma." Hux said with a heavy sigh.

It had been four days since Snoke's death. Four days since Kylo Ren had become the Supreme Leader of the First Order. Four days since the Resistance had slipped right through their fingers, again. The remaining interstellar cruisers that made up their fleet orbited Crait and Kylo had settled on the _Finalizer_. He was well aware that Hux had always considered the large ship as his property so he took a sadistic pleasure in claiming the destroyer as his new base. He had briefly considered emptying the general's own personal quarters and claiming them as his own upon arrival, but he had graciously spared the man.

"I want a complete report on the current state of our means: troops, ships, bases, weaponry, everything. I also want all of the information we have on our allies, suppliers, and mining planets." The Knight of Ren ordered.

Hux tried to keep his face impassive, but his eyes bulged at the command. "Supreme Leader Snoke trusted me completely concerning the management of-"

"I'm sure I don't have to remind you that Supreme Leader Snoke is dead, do I?" Kylo interrupted with a steely and unusually calm voice. "_I_ am at the head of the First Order now which means that you report to me. As such you will heed my request and transfer all of the information I've requested to my holopad without delay."

Teeth clenched, Hux only nodded. Kylo Ren took no small amount of pleasure in the fact that the man was forced to yield to his demands.

"I also want complete control over the Holonet. Messages need to be broadcasted galaxy-wide informing each and every system of the state of things. We need them to know that I am the new Supreme Leader, that Luke Skywalker is dead, and that anyone who aids the Resistance will face the same fate."

"It will be done." The general said in a flat voice. "Forgive me, but what exactly are your plans for the surviving members of the Resistance?"

"Their fate is all but sealed. We will hunt them down and we will exterminate each and every one of them. I want all of our informants on high alert and if any information surfaces, I want to be notified immediately."

Kylo turned away from the general to face the vastness of the cosmos once again and Hux took that as his cue to leave. As he was about to exit through the door of the boardroom his superior's voice rang out once more.

"Another thing, Hux! I want a message sent to Korriban. All of the Knights of Ren are to be aboard this ship as soon as possible."

OoooooO

_The cocky moron… _

Amitage Hux threw his tablet down on his desk in frustration. After nearly two hours, he had finally finished gathering all of the data Ren had requested and sent it off through the ship's communication network.

_Would he really be consulting all of those files? What was his plan?_

Hux might not have been as high up in Snoke's rankings as Kylo Ren, but the general wasn't stupid.

Thanks to his military exploits the late Brendol Hux, his father, had risen up to the rank of commander in Emperor Palpatine's army.

Though Armitage hated the man he had promised himself one thing: to walk in the footsteps of his illustrious father. He wanted to serve amongst the mighty and perhaps even reach the highest rung on the ladder of power. As the First Order had risen from the ashes of the Empire the young recruit had watched on and learned all that he could. On grit and determination alone he had climbed the ladder, rung by rung, and he had almost reached his goal. After how far he'd come it wasn't an option to let Kylo Ren, the spoiled idiot, ruin everything he'd ever worked for.

Snoke's death had been a blessing. He couldn't count the number of times had he dreamt of tearing the heart out of the hideous figure that valued him for nothing and saw him as little more than incompetent. But at least the old wretch had been a somewhat thoughtful manipulator. Kylo Ren meanwhile was an unpredictable brute, posed to explode at any given moment. A temperament that did not benefit Hux's own personal goals, nor those of the First Order, at all.

The military had pretended to believe Kylo's preposterous story about the Supreme Leader's assassination at the hands of the scavenger from Jakku. In reality they'd have to have all been idiots to believe that a girl, who was all knees and elbows, had been able to take down the most powerful force sensitive in the galaxy, all eight members of the Praetorian Guard, and the master of the Knights of Ren at the same time and all on her own! Hux, like the rest of his men, had decided to swallow the lie and keep a low profile until the time was right. He had to play his cards close to his chest and conceal the fact that he knew that the apprentice had betrayed his master.

As a rule, Armitage rarely drank. However, he found himself standing to pour out a glass of aged Corellian wine. He savoured the taste of it on his tongue and clenched his jaw as he thought back to the last request he had received from the new leader of the First Order: to summon all of the Knights of Ren.

Kylo Ren needed allies. He wasn't military. His officers feared him, that's all.

If the opportunity arose, Hux was sure that they would support him rather than the reigning Supreme Leader. The demise of Phasma, his most loyal subordinate, annoyed him to no end, and with the coming of the Knights the scales would be tipped in Ren's favour and strengthen his authority. No question about it.

The soldier took another sip of his wine. He could not let the vile imposer relegate him back to underling. He was a general in the most powerful army in the galaxy and he planned on maintaining his position and so much more.

OoooooO

**The rebel base on planet Arbra**

A little while after their arrival on Arbra, a debriefing with the few surviving resistance fighters was held in the command room of their new base.

Leia's face looked tired and worn, but the glimmer of hope that seemed to live in her dark eyes remained. She had told them that Luke had left them and that he was one with the Force now. At that, all eyes had turned to Rey. The young woman had lowered her head as if it sagged under the weight of the gazes full of questions that she did not have answers for. Leia had come to her rescue at once though, urging all of the survivors to believe in their own strength, and in their own determination to continue the fight. Yes, the Resistance was at rock bottom, but they weren't alone. She had trust in their allies. They were bound to answer. They were bound to help. Memories of the Empire and its exactions lived on in the minds of all life forms in the galaxy. It was out of the question for them to simply submit to a new dictatorship without putting up a fight. The winds of revolution were going to blow again. Of that she was sure. For now, they just had to be patient and keep a low profile.

After Leia's assurance, Rey had recounted everything that had happened in the _Supremacy's_ throne room to the speechless rebels. Even Leia froze upon hearing Rey's story.

"As soon as I regained consciousness, I heard the elevator coming up. I fled down a hallway that housed an escape shuttle and didn't stick around long enough to meet whoever it was. Just launched the ship and rejoined the _Falcon_." She finished.

"So, if Snoke is dead, who's leading the First Order now?" Finn demanded as he steadfastly avoided eye contact with general Organa.

A heavy silence filled the room.

"I doubt that my son left that privilege to our dear friend Hux," Leia sighed. "I suppose he took charge of the First Order."

Everyone had finally discovered that Kylo Ren and Ben Solo were one and the same. The merciless murderer who had committed patricide was the son of their beloved general. Nevertheless, Leia Organa stood proudly before the assembly. She had never flinched in the face of hardship and she was certainly not going to start now.

"Like I said to Luke, Ben, my son, is gone."

Rey's heart skipped a beat, her hands trembled, and she felt an invisible vise crush her chest.

"Kylo Ren and the First Order must be stopped at all costs. We need to continue the fight. I'm counting on all of you, and all of you know what you have to do." All heads in the room nodded in assent and Leia signaled the end of the meeting with a kind smile.

Now motionless on the threshold of the same command room Rey watched on as Poe talked to a young blonde woman and C-3PO, in front of the circular holocom monitor. The golden droid waved his arms about in all directions and Dameron seemed worried. The ex-scavenger was unsure if she should approach the group or not, but when the pilot took notice of her he beckoned her over.

"Hey!" She said, giving the three of them a small hand salute. "Can I make myself useful?"

"We're having problems with the generators," Poe replied. "A team's working on the first one, but we need bodies to figure out what's wrong with the second. I think there's something up with the accumulators. Do you know anything about how they work?"

Rey liked Poe a lot. Over the past few days she had come to know him better and she enjoyed his intense personality.

"Yeah, I got it. I know a little about mechanics, I can go join the others."

Poe thanked her and she took off towards the generator room.

OoooooO

A few hours later Rey returned to the refectory, annoyed. The malfunctioning battery was turning into a bigger problem than she had anticipated, one that she couldn't fix for lack of equipment and replacement parts. She spotted Finn at the back of the hall and made her way over to join him once she had picked up her meal. The two young rebels had scarcely had time to talk since their arrival at the base. Both of them preoccupied with the effort it took to settle and secure the place.

"Hey!" Finn said with a grin.

"Hey…" Rey replied as she slid into a seat opposite him.

The pair of friends seized the quiet moment alone to make up for lost time. Finn walked her through everything she had missed during her time on Ahch-To, especially his misadventures with Rose on Canto Bight and their infiltration mission abort the _Supremacy_ in an attempt to disable the hyper-space tracker. She learned more about Rose, and the young man's enthusiasm about his escapades almost made her forget her sullen mood. After that, the former stormtrooper questioned her about what she had been up to on Luke's island. She recounted her time with the Jedi in detail, how the man had lost faith in himself and had ultimately cut off all ties to the Force. She also told him all about what had happened between the Jedi and his nephew, Ben Solo.

"That's no excuse for becoming the worst kind of scum in the galaxy." Finn spat the words, grinding his food into his plate with the edge of his spoon.

Rey swallowed hard and decided not to continue on with that particular vein of conversation.

"How did you meet Rose?" Rey asked eventually as she swallowed a mouthful of gritty protein porridge.

"Oh, well…" the rebel stammered, "let's just say that she has a keen sense of honour and hates deserters."

Rey eyed him suspiciously and Finn sucked in a long breath before he answered, guilt lacing his tone.

"She caught me trying to leave the _Raddus_ in an escape pod."

The ex-stormtrooper lowered his head to push his food around his plate as Rey stared at him in confusion.

"You wanted to abandon the ship?"

The noise from surrounding conversations in the refectory had suddenly come to their attention as a thick silence hung heavily between the two friends.

"Listen Finn, I'm not judging you. You have-"

"I don't have any excuse." Finn interrupted. "I wanted to run away again, yes. But only because I knew Leia had given you a beacon to help you find us. When she fell into her coma I got ahold of the beacon and I had to get it as far away from the ship as possible. If you had come back while we were being pursued by the First Order's fleet you would have been killed. I'm not a hero, Rey. I never have been. But you are, you're important…" Finn trailed off as he finally met his friend's softened gaze.

Her large, compassionate, hazel eyes scrutinized him, and he took a deep breath before finishing.

"You're important to the future of the Resistance, if we have any chance of winning at all."

Rey might have had the ability to use the Force in a manner of ways, but Finn had the power of finding the exact right words to say to comfort her and to make her take notice of just how special their friendship was.

"Thanks, Finn."

The young man only nodded, and a comfortable silence settled over them as they finished eating. When they got up though, Rey couldn't help but rib him a final time.

"I'm confused," she starts. "How was Rose able to get the upper hand on one of the toughest ex-stormtroopers in the galaxy?"

Finn laughs a little.

"She electrocuted me."

"So, it was pretty much love at first sight then, huh?"

Finn's cheeks suddenly darkened, and he looked to the ground without comment.

"You know Finn," Rey added as she stared at him more intensely, "You claim not to be a hero, but you went to _Starkiller_ for me and you were ready to sacrifice yourself by flying a speeder straight into an enemy cannon to try and save the rebels. It all seems rather heroic to me."

Finn shot her a grateful smile and they parted ways, each going off on their own. As Rey walked slowly to the generator room she thought back on the conversation they had just had.

This girl, Rose, seemed to have taken a special place in her friend's heart and Rey was happy for him. But then a feeling of guilt seized her, a deep breath forcing its way into her lungs. Finn had been so sincere and honest to her. She hadn't. And she also lied by omission to all the others. She hadn't even mentioned the connection between her and Kylo once.

How could she admit that she had tried to rally the new Supreme Leader to their cause and failed miserably? How could she admit that the connection they had shared had awakened something incredibly strong and frighteningly foreign inside of her? Something that she couldn't even explain to herself, something that she was barely recovering from. She had felt something completely other than hate for…

_For who? For the monster? For the power-hungry murderer?_

But it was over now. The connection between her and Leia's son had been severed and she had no intention of letting it return. However, she couldn't explain the hole it left within her when it had taken its departure, nor the stab of pain that seemed to lance right through her chest every time someone said Kylo Ren's name in a tone full of contempt and disgust.

OoooooO

_**The Finalizer**_**, interstellar destroyer**

He laid completely still on his bed save for the rising and falling of his chest in the slow rhythm his breathing had taken up. His eyes were wide open and his mind was racing.

_The First Order, Snoke, Hux, the rebels… and Rey, always Rey… _

Despite everything he had to think about and organize to establish his new position of power within the First Order, the scavenger hadn't left his thoughts once since Crait.

His encounter with Rey had plunged his entire world into chaos, everything he had been sure of had exploded in front of his eyes, and pockets of light inside of him that he had thought were long extinguished had been fanned back to life. They seemed to glow in the darkness inside of him. Weaknesses, his master had called them. It was as if after contact with the young woman the glimmers of light inside of him burned like embers yearning to grow, more and more until they burned brighter than the stars. The newfound light had also awakened his self-esteem, his own will, and his own _free_ will. All things that Snoke had spent so long trying to eradicate.

Back on Starkiller when the old man had told him that there was too much of his father in him and called him a child in a mask, he had unwittingly committed the worst of mistakes. That was the exact moment Kylo Ren understood. Han Solo was right: Snoke was only using him for his power. Just as he used Hux, the First Order army, and the Knights of Ren. Just the same as Palpatine had used Anakin Skywalker…

But Snoke was no longer part of his life. A new future had presented itself to him and he had to remain faithful to his internal mantra: kill the past… The past he hated so much.

Kylo scrubbed his face with both hands. It wasn't that easy. Everything he had lived through from his childhood through to his adolescence had brought him to where he was today.

After his birth, his mother had thrown herself, body and soul, into rebuilding the New Republic. Meanwhile, his father spent his time dreaming of the adventures he could have been having out in the throes of the galaxy. He knew growing up that his parents loved him in their own way, but not as much as they loved 'the cause' and 'adventure'. They just hadn't been cut out to be regular parents; parents that he needed, parents that would put him above everything else. How many days had he stayed back on Chandrila, alone in his mother's quarters, with nannies whose names he couldn't even remember? Despite the tender mothering Leia had tried, asking him what he had learned from his tutors, hugging him and kissing him goodnight, he knew… He knew that the spirit of his mother wasn't really in it, she was just going through the motions of what she thought a good mother ought to do. The same thing happened when he sat on his father's lap at the controls of the _Millennium Falcon_ and listened to his father's stories of distant planets in the Outer Rim. Ben soaked up every word his father gave him with stars in his eyes and a heart fit to burst with the admiration he felt for the man, but his father was never really there with him in the cockpit. He was light years away. On Endor, on Er'Krit, Anoat, Nar Shaddaa… And damn it all, he had lost count of the times he had hoped and prayed for his parents to finally _see_ him. His extraordinary parents, Resistance heroes, the people responsible for the destruction of the Empire… But how could a child, shy and sensitive, compete with the fate of an entire galaxy? He had always felt too much, and by the age of seven his parents had figured out how to wash their hands of him. After that, when his own uncle, his role model, his master, his idol, Luke Skywalker had tried to murder him in his sleep, darkness had seemed much safer than the light. He had decided to follow in his grandfather's footsteps, honour his memory, and prove to everyone that he didn't owe them a thing. But, like the rest of his wretched family, his grandfather had been deaf to his calls as well.

_They had all abandoned him. They had all betrayed him. Thinking of them wasn't even worth the effort. _

Eyes still fixed on the ceiling, he took a deep breath.

Suddenly, the beeping of his holopad rang out through the dark room, the only light inside of it came from the diffused light of the stars shining through his panoramic window. Kylo Ren sat up and grabbed the device without hesitation. On his screen was the terrified face of a young soldier.

"I- I apologize for disturbing you Supreme Leader, sir," he stumbled over his words, "but you expressly asked to be informed as soon as we could get in touch with Korriban."

Kylo Ren jumped up and walked over to the monitor of his holocom that took up most of the space in the adjoining room.

"Transfer the communication to me." He ordered.

He had scarcely thrown on a tunic when a familiar face appeared as a hologram in front of him. A man with a smooth head stared at him with an icy-blue gaze. Black stripes adorned his face and a single dark line marred his chin. His skin was the colour of ash and he wore a small carnivorous smile. All typical physical characteristics of the Rattataki people. He greeted his interlocutor with a nod before speaking in a gravelly voice:

"Salutations, Lord Ren."

Kylo stared at the hologram, satisfaction written all over his face.

"Yehnu," the commander of the Knights of Ren replied simply. "Are the others with you?"

"Sylla and Elias are still stationed on Lothal and Bram is overseeing the construction of new bombers on Allyuen. We all felt a strong disruption in the Force. Does Supreme Leader Snoke-"

"He's dead." Kylo interrupted without preamble.

Yehnu's face froze immediately in utter astonishment.

"That was four days ago. Killed by a Force sensitive rebel. I took charge of the First Order and I need you all to join me on the_ Finalizer_ at once. We are currently in orbit around the planet Crait in the Outer Rim. I will explain everything that happened in detail once you arrive."

The Rattataki knight seemed to find his voice again.

"Okay. I will contact the others. We will leave instructions for our subordinates and prepare for our departures right away."

"Where's Viri Pax? Why is he not with you on Korriban?" Kylo asked.

"He left to take care of a slave encampment on Hays Minor at the mining site, there was an uprising there. He said he would return when the dissent had been dismantled. Knowing him he will be back in less than forty-eight hours.

"Perfect. I expect all five of you to be here as soon as possible." He ended the conversation by cutting off the communication

Kylo Ren remained where he was for a few moments, smoothing his hands over the surface of the holocom. His knights would be joining him. Then, the real work would have to start.


	3. CHAPTER 2

**Chapter 2**

**7 days after the battle of Crait - The new rebel base on Arbra**

"General Organa! General Organa!"

Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix burst into the small living room near the command post where the rebel leader had been resting.

"We got a response! They responded! The Naboos responded!"

Leia's face lit up like that of the bearer of the news. The general was fond of Kaydel, she reminded her of herself in her younger years when she too had been full of passion and inexperience but teemed with devotion to the cause.

The first time the two women had met, the rookie of the Resistance was standing at attention amongst all of her male comrades. Leia couldn't help but smile at the sight of the two golden macaroons that adorned her head. That was back on their first day on D'Qar. A mixture of excitement and apprehension filled their gazes as they had looked to the horizon. At that point the young people had been the future of the Rebellion, hearts of fire and determination to boot.

Today most of them were dead, their fragile lives blown away like dust in the wind by the raging breath of war.

Still, Kaydel remained, standing in front of her with a face full of hope.

"Gather everyone at the command post." Leia ordered.

OoooooO

"The communication came from the planet of Coruscant on a highly encrypted channel. Naboo's emissary didn't want to take any chances." The young rebel announced.

"Start the broadcast," said Leia with a hard look at Poe facing her from the other side of the holocom.

About ten of them stood gathered around the communication device with bated breath. Rey had greasy streaks across her face. She had left the generator room that she had been working in for three days in a rush. Finn stared at the console; his lips pressed as tightly together as the fists hanging by his sides. Kadel tapped a series of buttons on the keyboard and the hologram appeared in front of them.

"General Organa, allow me to introduce myself, I am Leman Drill, the emissary of Queen Megarana of Naboo."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, emissary." Leia replied.

The man looked to be in his forties and seemed ill at ease. He was dressed in the black and gold tunic that was custom for all representatives of the people of Naboo. His face was tense, and he kept glancing worriedly over his shoulder.

"We picked up your distress signal from Crait seven days ago. But alas, we could not answer. First Order commanders arrived at the palace soon after we received it claiming to want to establish commercial trades with us. The syndicate controls close to eighty percent of all bacta production in the galaxy. Our solar batteries for access to drugs: that was their proposal. They stayed to 'negotiate' for three days but we weren't blind to what they were doing. All they wanted from us was to poke around our stuff. Her majesty could do nothing but welcome them for fear of arousing suspicion, and our communications weren't secure at the time. They've been watching us from afar for several months now. They know that we've shown you support. They took to threatening several of our advisors for proof that we had financed the construction of your bombers. However, Queen Megarana and Miggi Tan, the leader of the Gungans, were able to undermine their investigations and they finally left the planet."

"We understand," Leia sighed. "Just because we're suffering at the hands of the First Order doesn't mean that Naboo should too."

"After the annihilation of the Hosnian Prime system and the New Republic along with it, all of our systems are scrambling to recover from the destabilization. We can't thank you enough for destroying Starkiller base. Without you, we could have been next. Our condolences to you for your losses on Crait, we were devastated to hear the news."

"A lot of good men and women died that day, emissary."

"You can count on our help now. However, I was forced to leave Naboo to get in touch with you on this frequency. Are you safe where you are?"

"We are. But you understand that we cannot reveal the coordinates of our base to you."

"Of course, general. That goes without saying. The news of Crait spread quickly on Coruscant. Kylo Ren is the new Supreme Leader of the First Order, and much like under the rule of the Empire, he has taken control of the holonet. Propaganda messages are already announcing the end of the Resistance and the death of your brother. Is that true? Luke Skywalker, he's really…?"

"Unfortunately, it's true," Leia confirmed, heart breaking a little with the words.

Leman Drill's face grew more somber.

"All of my condolences, general. It's an immense loss for all of us."

Leia cast her eyes down and the emissary continued.

"Garrisons of stormtroopers are crawling all over the place here. I hope that I haven't be followed, but I'd like to propose another meeting, in person this time. I will try to rally together some of our other allies, but I'll need time."

Poe twitched at the suggestion. He cast a wary look at Leia.

"I don't trust this," he whispered, teeth clenched.

Luke's sister looked hard at each of the people around the communication console before she focused her attention back on the emissary. The expressions of her comrades were all taught and suspicious. Poe was right. The position they were in was extremely fragile.

"It could be a trap," Finn said out loud. "Who's to say that the First Order hasn't already invaded Naboo?"

"Your suspicions are valid," Drill exhaled, casting a worried look around for the umpteenth time.

Then, the hologram lifted his right hand and turned it so that his interlocutor could see the back of it. On his little finger he wore a golden ring topped with an oval, midnight blue, stone.

"Megarana gave it to me. She told me that you would understand," the emissary said.

A whisper of a smile crossed the general's face.

"Nine days from now on Endor. Three kilometers south of the Ewok village there's an old rebel facility. We meet there at dawn. Try to bring as many representatives as you can for those who still want to help us fight." Leia proposed.

"General…" Poe protested before he was silenced by a single raised finger from the rebel leader.

"Nine days, emissary Drill," she repeated. "Stay on your guard in the meantime. Thank you for your call. Send all of my regards to the members of the High Council of Naboo, Chief Miggi Tan, and especially Queen Megarana. May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you too, General Organa."

With those words the transmission was cut off. Poe couldn't help but return to his protests amidst the murmurs that arose inside of the command post.

"General! How can you be sure that he wasn't lying? He could be in the First Order's pocket! You don't even know the man!"

"He was wearing my mother's ring."

The muttering stopped and the room quieted immediately.

"Only Megarana could have given it to him. She and I decided that the ring would be a symbol of good faith if ever the situation arose one day. That's why I have confidence in him. The meeting will take place." She said as she gave Poe and imploring look. "But I'm not certain I'll be able to…"

"I'll go," Poe decreed without any hesitation. "I'll go, general. I'll take BB-8 with me and I'll go."

Finn opened his mouth to offer himself up for the mission too when a young, dark-haired woman in a medic suit, burst through the doors of the room.

"Rose is awake!" She announced, out of breath.

Relief flooded the faces of everyone in the room. Every little piece of good news was a miracle on the small base. Finn turned towards Leia who nodded, giving him permission to leave the meeting. Rey's eyes followed him as he left the room and disappeared down the hall. She was elated for her friend. The ex-stormtrooper felt more deeply for the technician than he would have anyone believe and the young woman clenched her teeth to suppress a smile. Things were finally starting to look up after all. Their allies had made contact with them, Rose was out of her coma, and they were all safe for now.

A few minutes later Leia let everyone else go save for Poe and a few other pilots whom she needed in order to plan the trip to Endor. It required a hard look at their depleted fleet and the resources they could spare.

After she was dismissed Rey decided to join Finn in the infirmary to finally introduce herself to the famous Rose. She knew that she should probably just leave the pair alone, but her curiosity overpowered that instinct. When the entrance of the room designated as the medical ward came into view, she slowed her pace cautiously. Snippets of laughter and conversation could be heard from where she was. She peeked her head through the doorway and saw Finn sitting at the bedside of the young woman. Rose sat propped up against two big pillows, pale but radiant. When the technician's eyes spotted her lurking in the doorway she was overcome with embarrassment.

"Oh! You must be Rey! Hi! Come in! It's so good to finally meet you!"

The convalescent's enthusiasm caught Rey a little off guard.

"It's nice to meet you too," Rey said simply as she approached the occupied bed.

"I'm so flattered to be in the presence of a real Jedi!" The young ebony haired woman added, smiling up to her ears. "I so wish I could have seen it! Your escape from the cave and you lifting all of those rocks!"

"Oh, I'm not a Jedi," Rey stammered, "and how did you even know what happened on Crait? I thought you were unconscious when…"

"As soon as I got here she wanted to know how we escaped with our lives. I told her all about your exploits," Finn explained.

Rey couldn't help but look towards the floor, embarrassed. She still struggled with the admiration and complements that her performance on Crait had earned her.

"From what I've heard, I should be the one thanking you. You saved Finn's life back there."

"She stopped me from doing the right thing, there's a distinct difference…" the ex-stormtrooper grumbled.

"Exactly!" Rose retorted. "Unnecessarily sacrificing yourself by flying straight into the mouth of the cannon. Do you seriously think that the First Order wouldn't have been able to force the doors open anyways, despite your insatiable desire to be a hothead?"

Finn opened his mouth to reply.

"I-I," he stammered, struggling to find the right words. Especially since he suddenly remembered in vivid detail what Rose had told him when he had reached the cockpit of her ski-speeder to ask her why she'd done it.

_That's how we're going to win. Not by fighting what we hate. But saving what we love._

And he especially remembered the soft, furtive, feeling of her lips against his. That day, for just a few seconds, he had been stunned, unable to move even in the midst of all the chaos that surrounded him. His eyes had been caught on the girl's face, dusty and covered with sweat. He couldn't take his eyes off of her closed eyelids. A terrifying thought had seized him. She couldn't die here, not because of his actions.

"Are you alright Finn?" Rose asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes, I…"

Rey's calm voice came to his rescue.

"Thank you again Rose, for saving Finn's life."

"It was actually the second time!" Exclaimed the technician with a triumphant smile. "So, I think that it's only fair that I get his dessert portions for the week."

Rose turned to look inquisitively at Rey.

"We _do_ get dessert here in the refectory, do we not?" Rose asked with an astonishing amount of candor. Her childlike expression was a lot funnier than it should have been.

Finn, lips pursed, shook his head in negation.

Rey couldn't help but laugh a little at the spectacle of the two young people teasing each other like little kids. Rose was irresistible. Her presence was as warm as a pocket sized sun and it was somewhat impossible not to immediately fall under her spell. She understood it now. The reason why Finn had become so attached to her so quickly.

The young technician sighed suddenly, and with a movement as natural as they come, she reached over and squeezed Finn's hand in hers while closing her eyes.

"Oh… my head feels really heavy all of a sudden. I think I need to rest for a little while, I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice much thinner, as she sunk back into the cot.

"Of course, I'll leave you to rest," Rey said, slowly backing away towards the door.

Finn, on the other hand, didn't move a millimeter. Instead, he intertwined his fingers with Rose's before he turned back towards Rey. "I'm going to stay with her a little longer," he said as he prayed that his friend wouldn't give him any curious looks or innuendo filled comments. To his relief Rey simply nodded and gave him a little smile before leaving the room.

OoooooO

**7 days after the battle of Crait - On board the **_**Finalizer**_

Kylo Ren entered his quarters and dropped his cloak on the floor only to have it immediately recovered by a service droid who shuttled it off towards his room before disappearing. He set his saber down on the table before slowly crossing the room to sit heavily on a bench facing the panoramic bay window that offered him a breathtaking view of Crait.

He had just spent the last two hours probing the minds of all of the senior officers on the _Finalizer_, one after the next, as they reported back on their respective sectors. It was a necessary evil in order to separate the ones who were trustworthy from the ones who had already pledged allegiance to Hux. He had also given the general staff a false update about the new direction he wanted to take the First Order in as a pretext to have them all assembled on the upper deck. The result of his investigation had been surprisingly satisfying. They were all afraid of him. Almost as afraid of him as they had been of Snoke. His hold on the First Order would be solidified as soon as his disciples finally joined him. Even though it was true that Hux had his own followers, many officers were reluctant to regard him as a potential leader.

The effort of the mental intrusions he had performed had drained him of energy. The dish of dried fruit laid out on the table in front of him was appealing and his stomach gurgled unceremoniously. Nevertheless, he ignored it and headed to the bathroom instead. He rid himself of the rest of his clothes and boots before stepping under the hot spray of the shower. The water ran down his face and in between his shoulder blades before it trailed down his thighs, managing to give him a sense of well-being. He washed his hair and let his fingers linger against the still-fresh scar that marred the entirety of his right cheek. He closed his eyes and was almost surprised when he didn't hear the sound of Snoke's mocking reproaches.

From as far back as his memory served him, the old man's voice has always been omnipresent in his thoughts, like white noise, an incessant but somehow reassuring heartbeat. It had always told him how exceptional he was, while at the same time it counseled him not to talk about their bond with anyone, not even his parents, because they wouldn't understand, they would only reject him… The voice had tamed him, it had given him the attention and comfort his parents has unjustly deprived him of.

When his mother had decided to entrust his care to his uncle Luke so that he might follow the training of the Jedi, another injustice in his eyes, the voice had continued to echo through his dreams. It criticized the teachings of Skywalker, contradicted every bit of guidance he received, and undermined every part of the Light Side it could. It had convinced him that the Dark Side was the only way to go, that it would lead him to strength, to power… That his suffering would cease, that he would never feel alone again, and that everyone would finally be forced to see how strong he was.

Kylo closed his eyes and laid both hands flat against the shower wall while the jet of water untied the knot of tension at the back of his neck. Mentally worn out, he couldn't stop the memories of the academy that started to assault him.

"_Is it true that you're Master Skywalker's nephew?"_

"_Yes, it's true." _

The blonde kid who had arrived only a day before him had stared at him with a half-intrigued and half-admiring air.

"_So, Darth Vader was your grandfather?"_

Comments about his illustrious ancestor always managed to resurface within the small group of Padawans, but never in Luke's presence. Darth Vader both fascinated and terrified the young apprentices. However, in the back of Ben's mind, the voice that lived there never failed to extol the merits and omnipotence of the Sith knight.

It didn't take long before the other children detected something in him that they couldn't quite place but that made them unmistakably uncomfortable. Conversations stopped when he approached and looks sent his way were fleeting.

But the blonde boy was different. Unlike the others, he hadn't been reluctant to train with him. His name was Elias and he had said that the only way you could improve was by training with people that were more powerful than yourself. Ben was leagues ahead of Luke's other Padawans and his mastery of the Force was unparalleled at the academy. Over time, a complicity and mutual respect had been established between the two young men. A little while later, Yehnu and Jor, two Rattataki brothers, had joined the pair and they had become an inseparable foursome. Yehnu, the elder, was calm and serious, while Jor took pleasure in almost incessantly teasing others, so much so that he often had to be called to order by Luke. Viri Pax had quickly joined the group upon his arrival at the academy. The Zabrak had endless questions about the ancient texts and always ended up in arguments with Luke about the relevance of Jedi beliefs. After which, Ben's uncle would impose long meditation session upon him as penance. Bram was the youngest of all the Padawans. Like all Arkanians, his pupil-less white eyes and ivory hair accentuated his fine features. He had followed the group of teenagers everywhere, playing the part of a clingy, somewhat irritating, little brother.

And then there was Sylla. She had been one of the few female apprentices at the temple. As a child she had been a tomboy, but as she had grown there hadn't been any denying her breathtaking beauty; what with her long black hair, dark almond eyes, and smooth skin. The girl showed promise of becoming a great Jedi and she was uniquely gifted in mind control, so effortless in her ability to manipulate people's minds that it seemed perfunctory. She was committed, determined, and focused in everything she did, but there was one thing she could never manage to do: hide her interest in Han Solo's son. That had upset Luke at the time. The law of the Jedi couldn't be any clearer. No attachments. And even less between disciples. The languid, poorly hidden, looks from the girl had made Ben's blood boil in the best way. He had tried to suppress his impulses, tried to keep his eyes from lingering on the curves of Sylla's frame, but the curves of? her body, sensual in their femininity, had only grown more pronounced over the years. Desire was proscribed by the Light Side, not the Dark.

At the time Ben had wondered if he was the only one who experienced that kind of attraction. Did his friends feel the same way? Why did the Force allow such sensations to be felt if they were to be ultimately repressed and ignored? Why was it wrong?

Kylo cut the water in the shower and grabbed a towel that he tied around his waist after drying. The bathroom was filled with steam and the thick vapour hung heavily in the air. The wall-length mirror that revealed his entire reflection from head to toe was unaffected though. He remained motionless in front of it for a few moments, taking the time to examine his face and the scar that ran all the way down to his collarbone.

_Why was he thinking of all of this now?_

He supposed that since Snoke had left his head for good, his memories were filling the void there. Unbidden, he saw himself asking Rey if Luke had told her what had happened that night on Yavin, and he closed his eyes. All of that dark night's events played out for him on the backs of his eyelids.

_After he had found himself outside of the demolished hut, panting and stunned by his uncle's betrayal, the other Padawans had come out of their own stone shelters to see what had happened. They had all joined him, sabers in hand. Some of them had shot him accusing looks. Luke was still buried under the rubble. Was he alive? _

_Ben had tried to tell them the truth; that Luke had attacked him and that he had only defended himself. But he could read the scorn in their eyes. One of them had called him a liar while stalking towards him, lightsaber held aloft in his hand. Surprisingly, against all odds, his six comrades had sided with him. Jor had even advanced to make a bulwark in front of him. Despite his young age, and the fifteen or so other apprentices facing him, Jor had been the first to attack. Yehnu, Elias, and Viri Pax followed him immediately, the latter raising his arms to blow their opponents back with a shock wave. The Zabrak had destabilized the assailants that outnumbered them, catching them all off guard. Then Sylla, Bram, and himself had launched themselves into the fray alongside their friends. _

_The dancing lightsabers had illuminated the temple square and the other apprentices hadn't stood a chance. _

That was the first time that Ben had killed another person. He had withdrawn his blade from the dead body of Moshar, an apprentice that he had trained alongside with for years, and the awful reality sunk in: he had just taken his first real steps down the path to the Dark Side. After the massacre and the burning of the temple the seven renegades had stolen a shuttle and gone straight to Snoke. Thinking that Snoke could end his suffering he had allowed the old wretch access to more of his head, and in doing so, to his most intimate thoughts. But he was wrong. Snoke had no plans of doing that at all. His new master was rough and ruthless, ordering him to kill and kill again. Ben didn't have much trouble convincing himself that it was the right thing to do as long as it brought him peace, so he had obeyed. Year after year he had obeyed, convinced that if he did the raging battle inside of him between the Light and the Dark might finally cease.

And then, out of nowhere, the girl had arrived and tried to kill him on Takodana. She was young and impulsive. Her eyes had held nothing but terror and derision as he had probed her mind to find out where the droid was. The first contact he had with her had intrigued him, but nothing had comparable to what he had felt later during their interrogation on the _Finalizer_. It troubled him deeply. He had felt her strength, and the dazzling light of a million suns inside of her, but he had also felt her shadows. Her fears, identical to his: abandonment, disappointment, loneliness. The girl was so much like him.

Even then Kylo Ren knew that everything was about to change because of her. Without even trying she had begun to revive the parts of him that he had tried so desperately to keep subdued since his first encountered Snoke. So, he had made a radical decision. In an attempt to permanently bury the Light parts of himself that tortured him to no end, he had committed the most irreparable of crimes: murdering his father, Han Solo. In that singular action he had tried to turn himself into a real monster, one with no hope of redemption.

But again, he had been met with failure. The warring of the Light and Dark inside of him only became worse.

It was as if the Force took pleasure in playing with him.

_Rey… _

He replayed the memory of the door of the _Millennium Falcon_ closing, slowly coming up to cover the frail silhouette of the scavenger and anger overtook him.

_Anger… His most faithful of friends. _

His jaw tightened in tandem with his fists. He felt the familiar wave rise up the length of his spine, invade his cortex, spread to each of his nerve fibers, flood his veins, burn his heart, and permeate through his skin with the need to extricate himself from his own body. Like it was being controlled all on its own, his right arm rose and struck his reflection in the face with the full force of his weight. The glass exploded instantaneously under the impact. He leaned against his fist, still impacted against the sharp debris for a moment as he watched his blood run down the wall. After a quick breath he clenched his teeth and ordered his seized muscles to relax. Slowly, he pulled his hand back from the wall to examine the extent of his injuries: several lacerations covered his knuckles and his hand bled profusely. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his hand while a couple of domestic droids were already at work around his legs collecting the shards of glass by his feet. He left the bathroom and changed into a pair of loose-fitting pants before laying back on his bed. The dark strands of his still-wet hair were almost invisible as they fanned out against the backdrop of his black pillow case.

The wave of anger ebbed slowly. His breathing went back to its normal rhythm eventually and he forced himself to analyze the situation more lucidly. He would get there eventually. He had to keep going. Snoke was dead. Skywalker was also dead, and the Jedi doctrine with him. The Resistance was nothing but a handful of rebels in distress led by his mother. Like he had said to Hux, he would hunt them down, along with their allies, until they had all been eradicated. And Rey… If she was smart, she would never cross paths with him again. She would hide on one of the planets in the Outer Rim and let him bring peace and order to the galaxy. He had so many projects for the First Order.

He was free of Snoke. His force bond with Rey no longer existed. He could make his own decisions now.

As he closed his eyes, he secretly hoped that he wouldn't dream of Rey anew that night.

OoooooO


	4. CHAPTER 3

**Chapter 3**

**8 days after the battle of Crait - the new Resistance base - planet Arbra **

Rey's room was small but comfortable. Her faithful staff leaned on the wall next to her bunk; it had been her only possession for so long. When she was thirteen, she had swapped an imperial cruiser compressor for it from a merchant on Jakku named Watts. Ever since then, it had saved her life countless times and never been far from her side. Now though, she also had Luke's saber, or what was left of it anyways, in her possession.

The pieces of the sword sat on the table facing her next to some of the books she had stolen from Ahch-To. The rest were sprawled out across her bed and her lap. She had been consulting their pages in hopes of finding information on the construction of sabers. Most of the passages she had found however were written in a language she couldn't understand, but luckily, they came with diagrams that depicted how the pieces were supposed to fit together. After spending some time studying the pictures, she had undertaken the careful dismantling of the weapon. From what she could understand; the Jedi who built their own sabers had to do more than just connect the separate parts. One or more kyber crystals formed the heart of the device, but their installment required absolute concentration and mastery over the Force.

How exactly she was to go about achieving that though, the books didn't say.

Each part of the dismantled sword was now spread out in front of her: the energy cell, the magnifier, the blade emitter, the power port, the flux stabilizer, and the three famed crystals. One of them had a blackish hue unlike the other two that glittered brilliantly blue. The shock wave that had hit both her and Kylo in the throne room had rendered it unusable. The crystal had to be replaced but she couldn't risk going alone to Lothal* because the planet was in enemy territory, and she probably wouldn't be finding a new kyber crystal amongst Arbra's forests.

The young woman sighed as she noisily closed the book in her lap. She couldn't help her mind from wandering back to Luke.

_What a waste!_

She felt her throat close as tears welled up in her eyes.

She didn't know a single thing and she had so many questions. None of which the old books would ever be able to answer for her.

Her tears began to flow as guilt washed over her like a tidal wave.

She hadn't been able to bring Kylo Ren back to the Light Side, and she would never succeed in repairing the saber. She was useless. The only thing she was good for was collecting junk on Jakku and waiting in vain for the return of parents that had never wanted her in the first place.

In the middle of her fit, someone knocked on the door. She quickly wiped her wet cheeks off as best as she could.

"Come in!" She called when she felt presentable.

The door slid open and Leia's silhouette stood framed in the doorway. The general greeted her with a tired smile before she entered the room.

"May I?" She asked, gesturing to the bunk next to Rey.

"Of course," the young woman replied, standing to put away the books that had been haphazardly scattered across her bed.

Leia sat down and eyed Rey's work laid out on the table.

"Doing a little DIY?"

"Yes, I…" Rey started, taking a seat next to the rebel leader. "I'm trying to anyways, but one of the crystals is broken".

Leia could easily hear the disappointment that the scavenger felt from the tone of her voice and she picked up the blackened crystal to examine it more closely.

"You know, I always dreamt of having my own lightsaber." She admitted.

Rey's eyes snapped up to the woman's face.

"Oh, make no mistake! I never wanted to become a Jedi, oh no. My brother had always been the more gifted of us when it came to manipulating the Force. He taught me one or two things a long time ago, but I've never been a good student. I'm still convinced that Luke was stronger than our father. But he always maintained that Master Yoda was the most powerful of Jedi though."

"Master Yoda? Luke's mentor?"

Leia looked at Rey curiously.

"Back on Jakku there was an old explorer who often made visits to the tavern near Unkar Plutt's trading post. Some nights he would tell stories about the Jedi Knights and their exploits during the time of the Republic: Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu… I was fascinated."

Leia's gaze clouded over for a moment as if lost to her memories.

"And heroes become legends," she sighed, her face suddenly sobering.

Rey thought back to Luke's words on Ahch-To during her second lesson. His bitter rant against the Jedi Order had been so devastatingly demoralizing.

"Your brother…" she began before pausing, wondering briefly if she should continue before pressing onwards. "He was really angry about Ben. He had no faith in the Jedi doctrine anymore. He said that he had betrayed the confidence you and Han had placed in him, that even though people thought of him as a legend it didn't stop him from failing Ben."

Leia let out a long sigh and her fingers closed tightly around the crystal in her palm.

"He didn't fail Ben. Han and I failed. We were his parents. He needed us and we passed that responsibility unfairly on to Luke. We had all sensed the darkness inside of him, and instead of reassuring him, accepting him, trying to understand him, we were afraid of him. The legacy my father left behind was such a heavy burden to bear… The visceral fear that we had of the Dark Side skewed our judgment, both mine and Luke's. We were all responsible for the birth of Kylo Ren."

General Organa set the crystal back down on the table and a leaden silence blanketed the room. Rey clasped her hands tightly together to stop herself from fidgeting. She couldn't keep it a secret anymore. She had to tell Leia. Maybe the woman would be able to help her understand.

"General," the young woman began.

"Please Rey, you know well enough by now to call me Leia."

"Right, _Leia_." Rey took a deep breath. "I have to tell you something."

The rebel leader listened attentively the young woman's story. Rey told her about the first time the Force had connected her and Ben on Ahch-To. She told her about the second time, on the cliff near the _Millennium Falcon_, when Leia's son had confessed to her that he had never hated Han and then uttered the sentence that Rey knew well was his only line of conduct.

"_Let the past die. Kill it if you have to. That's the only way to become what you were meant to be." _

Words he had stolen from his repugnant master, no doubt.

Leia's neck bent as she lowered her head, stunned by the weight of the revelations. Rey paused before continuing, but the old woman's hand that came up to rest on top of hers urged her to do so.

She then told her what had happened in the cavern on Ahch-To, the words she had exchanged with his son and the vision sent by the Force. Ben was free from Snoke's hold, and haloed by Light Side.

But she didn't talk about the indescribable sensation and the heat she had felt when his fingers had come into contact with hers… The stream of pure energy that had ignited every part of her being and every inch of her body. A feeling she had never even come close to experiencing before. She had to hide it because deep down she knew that it was wrong. Kylo Ren was a monster. How could one feel things like that when they were dealing with a monster?

With a flutter of her eyelids, she repressed the memory and returned to the story she wanted to tell.

"After Luke caught us in the hut, I forced him to tell me what really happened that night at the Jedi Temple." Rey swallowed hard. "Your brother went to Ben's room, when he had been sleeping. When your son woke Luke was leaning over him with an ignited lightsaber. He thought that his own uncle was going to kill him."

Leia clapped a hand over her mouth, so wholly horrified that she was unable to utter a single sound. She had suddenly become very pale and Rey almost regretted everything that she had just said. But she couldn't turn back now.

"Luke lost it for a split second. But I think he was being honest when he told me that he would never hurt Ben. Guilt drove him to Ahch-To and made him turn his back on everything; the Force, the Resistance, you. It's because of what Luke did that night that Ben joined Snoke."

The entire weight of the galaxy seemed to pull Leia's shoulders down, yet her eyes remained dry. After the death of most of her friends, her greatest love, and her brother, she had no tears left to shed. So she remained silent, her face unreadable.

"It's too late now," she said eventually. "Too many terrible things have happened."

It was Rey's turn to take the general's hand in hers to try to comfort her.

"During each of my connections with Ben, and when I saw him on the _Finalizer_, I felt the conflict inside of him between the Light and Dark. He saved me from Snoke, he turned his back on him; just as I saw in my vision. The Dark Side still hasn't completely won him over."

"He's the leader of the First Order now, his goal is to wipe all of us out," Leia disagreed sadly.

Suddenly, she turned to look at Rey with a gaze so blazingly intense that the scavenger couldn't turn away even though she wanted to.

"Have you been in contact with him since Crait?"

"No," the young woman asserted.

"Do you think you'll be connected to him again?"

"I don't think so. Snoke told us that he was behind the mind-link."

"How?"

"I don't know, I was kind of hoping that you'd be able to answer that for me. I still don't understand how any of it worked and Ben didn't seem to either. But nothing's happened since Crait."

"Luke and I shared a similar connection. Indeed, it's a very strong bond, difficult to explain and even harder to understand. It's existence just has me worried-"

"I swear that I would never put the resistance at risk!"

"I know that, Rey." Leia reassured her, tightening her grip on the scavenger's hand. "I was just going to say that I was worried about you. Your heart is pure, and full of good intentions. I don't want you to get hung up on the false hope that you can still save him."

"I've always been good at fixing things…" Rey's voice trembled as she spoke, trailing off. She was on the verge of crying again and quickly brought a hand up to her face to try and keep the tears at bay.

Leia dipped her hand into one of her coat's blue pockets and pulled something from it. Rey couldn't see what it was at first, but when the general opened her fingers, Rey almost couldn't believe her eyes. Sorrow gave way to stupefaction. The young woman was completely dumbfounded by the opalescent crystal that the rebel princess held.

"That's a-" she stuttered and stammered, trying to keep her excitement under control.

"I've always wanted a lightsaber." The rebel leader laughed a little. "And I've done quite a bit of travelling. My time on Lothal fifteen years ago was not very pleasant, but I still took a souvenir home with me.

Leia set the crystal down on the table next to the other three.

"It's yours now." She said simply before standing.

Stunned into silence, Rey only managed to find her voice when the princess was halfway out the door.

"Leia!" She called as the general turned to give her a parting look. "Thank you," she said, her eyes full of more gratitude than she could put into words.

"Make good use of it," Leia said simply before leaving the room.

OoooooO

**8 days after the battle of Crait - On board the **_**Finalizer**_

"Supreme Leader, the shuttle from Korriban is approaching."

At the announcement, Kylo Ren and his entourage of four stormtroopers hurriedly left the destroyer's upper deck to join the main hangar. Now that he was the undisputed leader of the First Order, this kind of familiarity might seem incongruous. Snoke, nor even Hux, would have rushed off to greet subordinates in this manner.

But Kylo didn't care what his staff thought.

When he stepped out of the elevator and crossed the landing platform towards their shuttle, every soldier, technician, and droid stood frozen at attention. He ignored them all. Ren came to a halt in front of the quickly lowering ramp that engulfed him in a cloud of steam and the sound of grinding metal.

Before even laying eyes on them, Kylo could feel their familiar presences. His knights had finally arrived.

Sylla was the first to disembark, clad in her mask, and the others weren't far behind. Just like her, they wore their dark uniforms and inscrutable metal helmets. The small smile that had been on Kylo's face faded swiftly when he counted their numbers; there were only four of them. Without hesitating, they formed a semi-circle around their master and bowed their heads.

Elias spoke first, his voice distorted by the steel walls around his mouth.

"Greetings, Lord Ren, we're at your service."

Kylo's eyes swept over the forms of the four knights with both relief and annoyance.

"Viri Pax isn't among you," he said dryly.

"He was delayed on Hays Minor," Sylla answered.

A thick silence hung in the air and none of the knights dared move.

"Still?" Kylo asked, this time making no effort to hide his displeasure.

None of his comrades even hazarded a glance up at him.

"Bram?" The new Supreme Leader demanded.

"The uprising on Hays Minor has, it seems, posed more of a problem than expected." The young Arkanian answered eventually.

The bad news had dampened the reunion. The knights held their breath as they waited for their master's reaction. But Kylo simply spun on his heels and headed back towards the elevator bay without any sort of display.

"Follow me." He ordered, and the four black figures hastened to obey.

OoooooO

**8 days after the battle of Crait - the new Resistance base - planet Arbra **

Poe was sitting at the back of the empty refectory, his eyes trained on his cup. To say he was upset would be an understatement. He couldn't stop thinking about the meeting that had been planned with Naboo's emissary on Endor. Specifically, about how it was too risky. He knew that Finn had his reservations regarding the assembly as well, yet they had no choice in the matter. He loathed to admit it, but he was terrified of falling back into Kylo Ren's hands again. He didn't have particularly fond memories of their last encounter.

"You seem pensive, captain."

Leia's voice pulled him from his thoughts as she made her way through the hall and sat down in front of him, setting her cup of tea on the table. In lieu of answering her, the pilot took a long sip from his own tumbler.

"Thank you again for volunteering for the Endor mission."

Poe raised his hand to stop her from saying any more.

"You're right. We need support from the people of Naboo, and if you trust them then I will too. And I… I never had a chance to tell you how sorry I was for the loss of your brother," Dameron exhaled sadly. "He saved all of our lives on Crait and he was truly a great man."

Leia nodded in agreement with a sad smile and a comfortable silence settled between the two of them as they drank their tea. Luke's sister observed a few rebels that entered the refectory as they took seats and chatted quietly amongst themselves.

"I need you." She said abruptly. "I need you to guide what's left of the rebels and preserve the hope in their hearts."

Poe looked up at her then, both startled and confused by her words. Leia, meanwhile, was still watching the little group that had begun laughing.

"General…"

"I'm not immortal, Poe, and I'm tired."

Leia paused, now making eye contact with the pilot.

"You have the soul of a leader, Dameron, despite your stubbornness and impulsiveness. I can see it. You proved it on Crait when all hope seemed to be lost. And even during your little mutiny on the _Ninka_, your plan wasn't perfect, but it was good. Amylin Holdo held you in high esteem, and I do too."

Poe huffed out a sad little laugh.

"Is that a joke? Holdo hated me!"

"Amylin played her cards close to her chest, that's all. Ever heard of tough love?" Leia tried to joke, but the memory of the rebel sacrificing herself for their escape instantly revived the pain brought on by the loss of so many.

"Vice Admiral Holdo was a true leader. I'm just a pilot."

Leia covered his hand with hers on top of the table.

"I believe in you, Poe. It will be up to you to take care of them and protect Rey, to keep the spark alive."

"_You_ are the spark, General. Without you-"

"Promise me." Leia implored him.

Poe looked down to their hands before back up to her face.

"I promise."

OoooooO

**8 days after the battle of Crait - On board the **_**Finalizer**_

Armitage Hux stood in the middle of the vast glass room on the _Finalizer's _upper deck. Kylo Ren had insisted that the space be arranged according to his instructions. Snoke's imposing metal throne had been recovered from the remnants of the _Supremacy_ and placed against the back wall on a large platform facing the entrance. A magnificent transparent dome surrounded the room and next to the throne, a gigantic holocom was about to make contact with Hays Minor.

Ren's knights were lined up to the left of their leader who sat atop his throne and Hux stood uncomfortably in front of them with the knowledge that he was most certainly being scrutinized from head to toe. None of them wore their masks, so he had already gotten a feel for the contemptuous glances being thrown his way. They had only arrived a day prior to take up quarters on the ship, but Armitage already knew that they were all the same; pedantic brutes who thought themselves superior to him.

Upon their arrival the general had been relegated to doing Phasma's work: the surveillance of communications and establishment of new stormtrooper garrisons on the planets that had recently fallen under the thumb of the First Order.

Hux's fists clenched unconsciously and his nails bit into the flesh of his palms as he suppressed an exasperated sigh. He knew that he had to show patience and remain impassive, a skill that he had learned long ago, but it was growing difficult.

Suddenly, a squadron of stormtroopers burst into the room, lining up on either side of the door to make way for a tall black silhouette.

Kylo Ren looked surprised.

"Viri Pax," he murmured as the newcomer approached and greeted him in the same fashion that the others had the day prior.

The Zabrak removed his mask and held it under his arm. His face looked like it had been carved out of marble. Small horns marred the surface of his perfectly smooth skull while, just like his comrade Yehnu, tribal-looking black patterns adorned his forehead, cheeks, and chin. His skin was clay coloured and he bore an ugly gash on his left cheek while his irises were an aggressive yellow.

"Lord Ren, or should I call you Supreme Leader…"

His voice was serious but imbued with a strangely sweet quality.

"I thought you had been waylaid on Hays Minor. We were just about to try to contact you." Kylo retorted.

Viri Pax's gaze furtively passed over the faces of all of his comrades before settling on Hux's.

"A rebellion broke out among the slave miners and, just as we were preparing to solve the problem, we were attacked."

"Attacked, by who?"

"Five X-wing fighters and ground troops. I only had two platoons of stormtroopers with me."

"_Who_?" Ren repeated, hands laid flat on the armrests of his seat, obviously trying to control his growing rage.

"Probably rebels."

Kylo Ren inhaled deeply before speaking in a chilling voice:

"The rebellion is dead."

All eyes were on the Supreme Leader. Hux was astonished that he had not cut down his disciple and reduced him to mere pieces with his saber by now. The tension in the room grew until the air became almost unbreathable, but the Zabrak met his master's gaze without so much as flinching. Hux even thought he could detect a hint of defiance in the underling's yellow eyes.

"Their leader was someone we've dealt with before: Maz Kanata. We held them off until reinforcements arrived from Hays Major and neutralized two of their fighters in the process, but the others managed to escape. They also successfully smuggled about twenty slaves out with them."

It took all of Hux's energy to suppress the smile that rose to his lips. This time there was no escaping it. The poor fellow had sealed his fate. His life would be over momentarily. Just as the soldier was expecting, Kylo Ren stood up from his seat and moved to stand in front of Viri Pax, jaw tightly clenched. A deathly silence blanketed the room. Of equivalent statures, the two knights fixed their gazes intensely on one another. When Ren's lapdog spoke again without any hesitation in his voice, Hux decided that the man must have a death wish.

"I see that you've also been faced with an unexpected challenge."

Viri Pax gestured to the scar that sliced Kylo's face in half.

More silence. More blazing looks.

A secret conversation seemed to be taking place between the two of them that no one else in the room was privy to. But the topic was clear: How could Ren blame his subordinate for losing twenty slaves and a handful of rebels when he himself had failed so miserably on Crait?

_This situation is becoming more and more interesting_, Hux thought to himself.

Kylo eventually broke eye contact with the knight and turned to face the holocom. Hux, speechless, couldn't take his eyes off of the man who had dared to address the Supreme Leader in such a way. He was suddenly struck with the memory that the six knights had known each other since childhood. They had all trained to become Jedi together for years before giving into the call of the Dark Side. The bond that united them was visibly stronger than he had ever imagined. However, Hux could also feel the tension that brewed not far beneath the surface of their small group.

The soldier had also noticed the position of privilege that the arrogant moron named Elias seemed to think he had. The saying "birds of a feather flock together" came to mind when Hux looked at him. Yet, him and the Supreme Leader couldn't be more physically different. Elias had short dirty blonde hair, a square face and his bright ocean-blue eyes had immediately clued Hux into the fact that he was smarter than he looked. Armitage took stock of the fact that Elias couldn't help but grind his teeth when Viri Pax had advanced towards the Supreme Leader without permission as well.

"What happened to Snoke?" Asked the Zabrak. "We all felt disturbances in the Force a few weeks ago, a sort of weakening of the Dark Side." He said, turning to face the other knights.

"Like when Jor was killed by the rebels," Bram added, point blank.

Now, all heads turned towards Yehnu. The Rattataki lowered his chin instantly to look at the floor as he clenched his teeth at the mention of his brother's name. Elias stiffened as well.

Hux took note of the looks the tall blonde, the Zabrak, and the Arkanian shared with each other.

_There had been a seventh night of Ren?_

"We felt something else too." Yehnu spoke, still looking at the ground. "The awakening of someone… someone powerful."

_How would Ren get himself out of this one?_ Hux shifted his weight on his feet.

He knew immediately that his thoughts had been a little too loud when Kylo glanced towards him. The man would probably have preferred it if the general of his army wasn't present while he was feeding lies to his friends.

_Well. Go on Supreme Leader, give us your pitch…_

"A girl from Jakku discovered her affinity to the Force very recently. She was recovered by the Resistance and managed to contact Skywalker." Kylo said.

"Skywalker…" Bram began, frowning.

"He's dead." Ren replied, his face frozen in the reflection of the smooth surface of the communicator. "He Force projected himself to Crait as a diversion to protect the Resistance and the effort killed him."

"We felt that too," Yehnu murmured.

Kylo had no choice then but to tell his knights about his encounter with Rey on Takodana, the sabotage on _Starkiller_, his confrontation with his father, and his fight with the traitorous stormtrooper and the young woman in the forest.

"You killed Han Solo…"

Sylla trailed off, the disbelief in her voice was reflected on the faces of the other knights. Only Elias seemed unsurprised.

Hux couldn't believe it.

Was the goddess-like warrior in front of him really impressed?

Even if she wasn't, Hux could tell that she had been hungry for the Supreme Leader's attention ever since she had entered the room.

_Interesting_.

"That she managed to get the upper hand on you when you had just been shot on Starkiller is conceivable, but how did a scavenger defeat Snoke in a room protected by eight guards? What training could she have done with Luke to become that powerful?" Viri Pax asked skeptically.

The moment of truth had been reached. Hux would finally see if Kylo Ren could prove himself to be the best liar in the whole galaxy.

Everyone in the room hung on his next words.

"Snoke evidently underestimated her. He asked me to bring her to the throne room to be questioned and he took the Skywalker lightsaber from her. He placed it on the armrest of his throne and then ordered me out. I had a bad feeling about it since I had dealt with the girl in the forests of Takodana and I knew that she wouldn't give in, so I stayed close. When I heard the sounds of a struggle I went back into the room and the Supreme Leader was dead. The girl had used the Force to remotely activate Luke's saber and cut Snoke down. By the time I made it back to the room she was fighting two of the Praetorian guards, two were already dead, and the last four came at me."

"She turned them against you," Sylla proposed.

_It was incredible! They were all willing to believe his insane story, just like that!_

This time it was too much.

"Snoke was one of the most powerful Force users in the entire galaxy! The girl was nothing but an unrefined junk trader from Jakku!" Hux couldn't help but exclaim, his voice full of scorn.

All eyes snapped to him in an instant, every person in the room wondering who had allowed an insignificant insect like him to open his mouth in the first place.

He saw Kylo Ren raise his hand, probably to try and make him swallow his words, but before he could even begin to choke, the female knight's perfect face found itself only inches from his own. Her eyes looked like two glimmering black pearls as she stared him down.

"I could make you tear your own tongue out at my will if I wanted to." Sylla's warm breath caressed the soldier's now tightly sealed lips. "And I want to," she added with a smile as predatory as it was diabolically sensual.

Hux felt sweat gather in beads on his forehead. He cursed himself for having lost his temper. Surprisingly though, Viri Pax came to his aid almost instantaneously by diverting the conversation.

"The girl managed to escape."

It wasn't a question, but a statement.

He had picked out another of Kylo Ren's failures. Decidedly, Armitage began to appreciate the man who didn't seem to be afraid of anything.

This time though Ren swiveled abruptly to face him before raising his arms towards the man. Hux watched as the Zabrak closed his eyes and then froze in place before crumpling to the ground, clearly under some sort of mental duress as he twitched on his knees in front of the new Supreme Leader.

"You forget to whom you speak to, _my friend_," Kylo Ren spat as the knight on the ground writhed in pain, groaning almost continuously through clenched teeth.

For the most part, the others didn't even look at their comrade who lay in a heap on the floor. Sylla was the only one to move as she fell back into line with the other knights. But after a moment, Elias took a step towards Ren.

"Kylo…" he murmured imploringly.

At the sound of his name Kylo ended Viri Pax's torture. All defiance had been cowed from his face as the Zabrak rubbed his neck with a gloved hand. Yet, Hux thought he could detect a gleam of dull rage in his eyes for just a moment before he stood.

"Forgive me, Supreme Leader," the words were labored and he struggled to speak clearly as he lowered his head and joined his comrades in line, standing next to Sylla.

Satisfied, Kylo Ren took a few seconds to collect himself before he returned to his seat. He inhaled deeply as he relaxed back against the throne, his forearms spread casually on top of the armrests. Six pairs of eyes stared up at him expectantly.

"Now we can discuss my plans for the First Order."

Hux swallowed hard in an attempt to dislodge the ball of hatred that was stuck in his throat to no avail.

_I'll have your head, Ren. And sooner than you think too._

OoooooO

*Lothal: a planet in the Outer Rim known for its kyber crystal deposits.


	5. CHAPTER 4

**Chapter 4**

**9 days after the battle of Crait - The new Resistance base - Planet Arbra **

As usual, they were all gathered at the command post. The room wasn't very large, but with their weakened numbers it didn't matter. Rey stood in between Poe and Finn with her arms crossed over her chest and a smile on her face. The rebels had just received a new message on an old rarely-used radio frequency from Maz Kanata. Six days ago, she, and a group of partisans to the cause, had attacked one of the First Order mines on Hays Minor. They had also managed to steal a shipment of Haysian ore and free twenty miners in the process.

Rose's heart pounded in her chest. As Leia was preparing to give the rebels their orders, she couldn't help but interrupt.

"Pardon me General, but where are they now?"

Half of her forehead was still covered by a large bacta patch and the bruise that coloured her right cheekbone had now taken on a greenish hue. Finn had insisted that she rest a few more days in the infirmary, but the technician had refused to stay in her bed even a moment longer than was absolutely necessary. She tried her best to hide the pain that shot through her body with every step she took, but Finn picked up on it anyways. The girl was just as stubborn as he was. When Kaydel had mentioned Hays Minor, the young man's head had been turned towards Rose immediately. It was her home planet. She had told him that she'd worked in the mines with her family before escaping the place with her sister, Paige, to join the Resistance. Was it possible that she still had parents or friends there enslaved by the First Order? Was it possible that they had been amongst the slaves freed by Maz?

"Maz cannot assure the protection of the miners any longer. She asked us if we could pick them up and shelter them."

"Where's the rendez-vous point?" Finn asked.

"Jakku," Leia said. "In the shipyards."

Now, Rey's heart began to pound as the rebel leader set her gaze on the scavenger.

"Where will we hide them?" Cova Nell questioned curiously.

She was one of the last five pilots who made up the miniscule group of remaining Resistance fighters.

"Here, with us." Leia said after letting out a long sigh.

A cacophony broke out among the members of the assembly as everyone began to speak at once and Poe's voice strove to be heard over the din.

"That's way too risky. I know I've been pretty pessimistic lately, but what if one of them is a spy for the First Order? If we bring them here, we'll be as good as offering Kylo Ren the Resistance on a silver platter."

"They need us!" Rose protested. "They were First Order slaves! Do you honestly believe that they would turn against the people who put an end to their suffering?"

The fiery look on the young technician's face froze Dameron where he stood.

"I know Rose, and I'm sorry, but it's too big of a risk." The captain said apologetically.

"You should know something else," Leia spoke again, her face ashen and somber. "After Maz left Hays Minor, Hux's soldiers slaughtered half of the remaining miners in retaliation."

The room quieted instantly at her words. Rey was the first to recover from the news enough to speak in a broken voice from the heart of the crowd:

"How many?"

"A hundred and sixty-two," Leia answered, shaking her head as she lowered it.

It would never stop. The suffering. The killings. The massacres. And Kylo Ren was the one giving the orders. Rey felt nauseous. She wanted to scream. She saw herself in the throne room, awakening painfully and standing to find that Ben was still sprawled out unconscious on the other side of the room. When she had told her story, she had lied. Nobody had been coming up in the elevator. Ben's saber had been close to her. She had only one thing to do. But she'd simply looked at him as he lay there at her feet and then fled to the shuttle while swallowing her disappointment and sorrow. If only she'd had the courage to…

"We have to go and get them." She heard her own voice announce before she was even aware that she was speaking. Her head was still foggy with the painful memory.

"Rey…" Poe cautioned.

"No, Rose is right. These people need us, they've suffered enough. I'll go to Jakku with Chewie and the _Falcon_. Trust me, I know the planet like the back of my hand."

"Rey, you're not going back to Jakku! " Finn protested immediately.

"He's right," Poe nodded his agreement. "It's too risky."

"I want to come with you." Rose interjected and Finn turned towards her.

"What? That's completely out of the question, you still haven't even fully recovered yet!"

Leia watched on without saying a word. Ignoring her friends, Rey walked forwards until she stood directly in front of the General.

"We need to save these people. We could also use some of the Haysian ore to help fix the accumulators. It would kill two birds with one stone. I know a perfect place in the ship graveyard where we could make contact."

Leia's dark eyes pierced the Rey's and she felt as if the woman was trying to look into the innermost recesses of her mind. Was the General able to read her thoughts the same way her son could? After a drawn-out silence, Leia spoke.

"Okay. Rey and Chewie, you two take the _Falcon_ and recover the survivors from Jakku."

Poe, Finn, and Rose all began to protest at once in a loud cacophony, but Leia's tone left no room for argument and froze them in place.

"Just the two of you. That's my decision. You leave in two hours. The only thing left to do is alert Maz."

OoooooO

**9 days after the battle of Crait - On board the **_**Finalizer**_

Viri Pax shot a questioning look at his comrades who appeared to be just as confused as he was.

"Your thoughts?" He asked, taking off his gloves and setting them down on the table in front of him.

Bram exhaled loudly, Yehnu raised an eyebrow, and Elias' face remained as impassive and unreadable as stone.

"Why would we doubt Kylo?" Yehnu, the Rattataki, replied eventually.

Viri Pax, his Zabrak companion, rolled his eyes.

"You've always been jealous of him, not to mention the sadistic pleasure you've always taken in defying him." Bram commented.

The Zabrak shot him a murderous look.

"There's nothing I envy about him and my loyalty to him has never been a question."

"Have you at least listened to what he's envisioned for the future of the First Order?" Yehnu asked.

"Peace and order in the galaxy. He can't honestly believe that he'll achieve that by getting rid of all the systems that profit off of war." Viri Pax snapped, laughing suddenly.

Elias only stared at him, his face impassive, before speaking.

"We have the weapons and the power. Soon we'll have a monopoly on all major resources and control over all commercial trades."

Viri Pax's laughing ceased just as suddenly as it had begun.

"Are you deaf?" He asked, his voice full of vitriol. "He spoke of diplomatic relations. Alliances with planets that have stabbed us in the back and made deals with rebel vermin, and not long ago I might add! Naboo, Coruscant, Chandrila, Corellia, all traitors-"

"Changing the way that people perceive the First Order isn't an unimportant endeavour, Viri." Elias argued. "The New Republic was weak. Before that, the Empire sowed death and destruction throughout the galaxy by oppressing people with military power; just like the First Order did under Snoke's aegis. And just look at how that ended: support of the Resistance was at an all-time high, and as such, they were able to defeat Darth Sidious! Not to mention our own Supreme Leader."

"The Resistance only has a handful of survivors left now!" Viri Pax spat. "And that's still too many people! They killed Jor, or have you forgotten about him?" He then yelled, turning to face Yehnu. "The only thing that they deserve is to be turned into ashes!"

The Rattataki swallowed the lump in his throat, meeting Viri's fiery gaze. Of course, he hadn't forgotten. How could he when the memory of his brother's blood covered face came back to haunt him each and every night without fail?

"I agree that the seeds of revolution have been planted and they'll never really die. If given the chance they will grow." Elias replied calmly to his furious friend. "But times have changed. Wars are not simply won on military force alone, but also economically and by using the media. Creating and securing alliances with the leaders of key systems will help to assure their cooperation so that we can take control of them over time. It's a shrewd tactic that involves foresight. And no, by the way, we'll never forget how we lost Jor."

"Elias, you've always admired our Master faithfully, but think about it! Kylo's reputation as a bloodthirsty tyrant has long been established throughout the galaxy! Come on! There isn't a chance of changing that narrative! You think he's going to do it through the control of information? By changing the First Order's image? Ridiculous! You said it yourself, Elias. WE HAVE THE POWER. Did Kylo forgot everything we learned from the Dark Side? The strong defeat the weak! The only things that matter are the supremacy of the Dark Side and the Sith code! We have the power and we can defeat all those who oppose us. No discussions, no peace treaties! Only fear can bring true order to the galaxy!"

At the evocation of the precepts of the Dark Side a strange glowed behind the eyes of the three knights facing Viri Pax.

"_Peace is a lie, there is only passion._" Proclaimed Viri, still staring Yehnu down.

"_Through passion, I gain strength._" The raucous voice of the Rattataki answered.

"_Through strength, I gain power._" Added Bram.

All three then turned towards Elias who gave them a knowing grin before reciting the lines of the Sith code they all knew by heart.

"_Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me._"

A silence filled the room after that before the tall blond man solemnly decreed:

"Kylo Ren is our leader. We must stay at his side and support him for now. I have every faith in him as I have in all of you. I'm sure he has not forgotten who we are and what we have sworn to fight for: the dominance of the Dark Side. Let us trust, my friends, in the vision he has for the future of the First Order."

Bram and Yehnu looked to him with deference as Viri Pax sighed, capitulating. Elias had always been the most level-headed of them. While he wasn't as powerful as the Master of the Knights of Ren, he had all of their respect. Everyone aquised to his words.

"Where's Sylla?" He asked his comrades suddenly, as if just becoming aware of her absence.

The knights in front of him only glanced around, averting their eyes and with that Elias had his answer.

OoooooO

**9 days after the battle of Crait - Planet Jakku - Inner Rim **

Rey wiped her forehead with the back of her hand to keep the droplets of sweat beaded there from running into her eyes. The time she had spent away from the planet amongst lush forests and clouds heavy with rain had almost made her forget the intensity of Jakku's stiflingly dry heat. And the sand… The damn sand that managed to get everywhere: inside of her ears, eyes, and somehow underneath her clothes…

The rendez-vous point that the young woman had come up with was inside of the star destroyer she had so often prospected when she'd lived on Jakku: the _Inflictor_. The old ship graveyard in the Goazon Badlands was the perfect place to camouflage both the _Falcon_ and Maz's transport vessel. The carcass of the _Inflictor_ had been completely stripped of anything vital and there was scarcely even a scrap metal left inside of it. Thus, it would be empty of scavengers and the survivors from Hays Minor would be able to quietly embark on Han Solo's old cargo ship away from prying eyes that might belong to First Order supporters.

As Rey carefully ducked through the entrance of the old _AT-AT_ that she'd called home for six years of her life, she almost marveled at the fact that she'd been able to convince Chewie to let her leave the _Falcon_. The meeting with Maz wasn't due to take place until tomorrow morning at dawn which allowed her ample time to head off. What she hadn't considered though was what the Wookiee's response would be when she'd told him that she had to take care of a few things at her old shelter. Chewie has gestured and grunted that he wanted to accompany her, but knowing full well what she planned to do that wouldn't work. Luckily for her a new leak had appeared in the motivator on the way to Jakku and she'd managed to convince him that it needed fixing before the refugees arrived.

With the promise that she'd be back before dark he had grudgingly let her go.

Dressed in her old linen clothing that she'd procured before they'd left Arbra, carrying her glasses and turban in the bag by her side, gripping her staff tightly in hand, she had set off. It hadn't taken her long to find the old speeder she'd hidden in the guts of the _Inflictor_ and she'd straddle the familiar machine before she rode off towards her old home in a rush.

The sky had already taken on a crimson hue and the great ball of fire that was Jakku's sun almost kissed the top of the sand dunes by the time she reached the Imperial _AT-AT_. The evening wind was beginning to cool and it was with an unexpectedly heavy surge of emotion that she entered the old combat tetrapod through its ventral door.

The entirety of the life she had left behind remained inside: her little pot of dried flowers sat on it's makeshift table. Her hammock was still suspended in the air. Her old pilot's helmet rested on the bench. Her little rag doll waited for her on the shelf next to her tin plate and mug. The smell of rust and grease and scrap metal in all of their familiarity welcomed her home with open arms. The only place in the entire galaxy that really belonged to her was this old machine once owned by a fallen Empire. After the death of old Davon, the keeper of the tavern at Niima Outpost, Bongen Bin, the new owner, had cast her out. He didn't need her to serve the tavern's customers anymore as she had for old Davon ever since her parents had left her. Droids, he said, were far more enduring, efficient, and economical. Because of him, at just thirteen, she had been tasked with not only finding a new place to sleep, but also figuring out how she would manage to earn her daily ration pack of polyamide vegetables. Rey hadn't had a choice, pillaging old ships for their parts was the only thing to do on the planet. It wasn't like she could leave; her parents were coming back for her, and it was her responsibility to wait for them on Jakku until they did.

Her gaze fell upon the metal wall covered with small vertical markings aligned one after the next. Two thousand one hundred and ninety eight exactly. Tears sprung to her eyes and she swallowed them painfully back. She seemed to be getting more and more emotional with every passing day. She wiped her still-dry cheeks with the backs of her hands preemptively and took a deep breath before grabbing the doll off of the shelf and sliding it into the bag at her hip.

Her parents had left her all alone on this planet.

They had sold her for drinking money.

She didn't believe it, but Ben's deep voice echoed through her mind nonetheless.

_Dead in a pauper's grave in the Jakku desert. _

The moment Leia had spoken of Maz and the planet in the Western Reaches of the galaxy's Inner Rim, she had been fixated on the idea of finding out the truth.

After the announcement of their trip to her former home, Rey had tried to head off towards her room but a hand on her upper arm had stopped her.

"What are you planning?" Finn had had asked when she'd turned to face him.

Rey had shaken his arm off and pretended not to understand.

"What are you talking about? Like I said before, we have to save those people and-"

"I heard what you said," Finn cut her off. "But this is going back to Jakku we're talking about. Don't tell me that there isn't something else going on in your head because I know you by heart and-"

It was the young woman's turn to cut him off by spinning on her heels and walking away from him without another word.

"Hey! Get back here!" He had run down the hallway after her. "If you're going to do something stupid then at least let me come with you!"

"You heard General Organa, just me and Chewie. They need you here."

"Rey, please!"

But the scavenger had continued on around the corner of the corridor without a second glance.

No doubt Finn knew what she planned to do. She hadn't hesitated to tell him what Ben had revealed about her parents in the throne room and he knew well that the information had affected her deeply.

Rey left her _AT-AT_ and mounted her speeder again, heading off towards Niima. Her face was hidden behind her goggles and her turban was wrapped protectively around her head. The cover of night was an ally. She prayed silently that Chewie wouldn't panic at her absence and come looking for her.

She knew exactly where to go. When she arrived at the outskirts of the outpost, she parked her craft behind a group of merchant tents and hid it under an old tarp she found lying on the ground. The torches of the stalls were lit and the shadows of rowdy scoundrels speaking and staggering around could be seen through the filthy drapings that made up their walls.

Rey snuck carefully between the rows of stalls, heading west. Her heart pounded like she'd just finished a long sprint and adrenaline coursed through her veins, but she forced herself to walk calmly. She crossed the lot where the merchant ships were parked, the same lot that she and Finn had stolen the _Millennium Falcon_ from not long ago. She took her glasses off and unwound her turban as she made her way passed what was left of an old _A-wing_ fighter and half of a T6 shuttle. After that, she arrived at a little stone wall that bordered a rectangle of a mixture of stand and rocky soil that took up about a hundred square meters.

Night had well and truly fallen over Niima. An inky blue sky hung over the dunes like a large veil dotted with glimmering stars. Jakku's two milky-white moons, that had always looked like cosmic eyeballs to Rey, lit her uneven steps as she entered the perimeter of the mass grave. She had never bothered to come here before. She had known some scrap metal workers that had ended up buried here after a bitter altercation with some of their customers, but she had never imagined that…

She examined the blistered surface of the arid soil at her feet carefully. No headstones. No names. No flowers. Just shallow graves dug haphazardly in the ground that housed invisible bodies covered in a mixture of sterile soil and hot sand.

She didn't want to believe what Ben had said, but a voice buried deep inside of her whispered that he was right. Either way, she had to be sure. In order to "kill the past" as he had instructed her to do, twice now. She needed the truth. She needed to be free of the burden she had been carrying for so long in order to embrace her new destiny; whatever that might be.

Rey glanced down at the ground and then up at the two full moons in the sky before marching off in the direction of Unkar Plutt's market stall.

OoooooO

As she approached his door, she wondered if the old Crolute was aware of just how untrustworthy the two men he had hired to stand guard outside of his shop were. Although they seemed to have blasters with them, they reeked of alcohol. The first was sprawled out on a stool with his back resting up against the wall, asleep, and the second was drinking cheap liquor on a bench next to the door.

The young woman became more somber as she approached the guard on the bench with muffled steps. She recognized him vaguely and knew that his name was Tarsim but he didn't seem to recognize her. In fact, he didn't even seem to notice her, not as she drew closer to him and not even when she poked him experimentally in the chest with her staff. Satisfied, Rey left Tarsim and his companion who was snoring like a freight train to circle the building.

His counter may have been closed, but Rey knew that Plutt lived in the big shak-like structure behind it. Slipping easily through the uneven hangings around the stall she found herself in front of the closed door. She contemplated using a rusty crowbar he had near the counter to force the lock, but before she did, she had the good sense to try the handle. It was unlocked. Rey rolled her eyes in silent thanks.

She didn't enter the building however. That had been too easy. Something was wrong. Unkar Plutt was many things but careless wasn't one of them.

Peering carefully through the entrance way Rey could see the faint glow of a blue-ish laser beam at her feet. An alarm system no doubt. She stepped carefully over it as she made her way into his living quarters. The hoarse breathing of the Crolute came in regular intervals from his massive body that lay spread out on a sleeping pad to the left of the room. Rey approached him before looking around as her eyes adjusted to the low light.

On the table, next to his bed, dozens of pouches of portions were piled up pell-mell. The sight made Rey want to gag. How many nights had she gone without while he had stores like these just lying around?

Suddenly the Rey's head whipped back towards the Crolute. Unkar's noisy expirations had stopped and he stared at her with eyes that were as wide as dinner plates. His mouth hung open, as if poised to scream, and Rey reflexively raised a hand in his direction before speaking in a low tone.

"You're not going to scream. You're not even going to say a word. Stay still!"

The Crolute froze at her words like a grotesque statue. He was paralyzed, balancing precariously on one arm that half-raised him from his mattress.

Rey relaxed a little when the power that she had used on the stormtrooper in the _Finalizer's_ interrogation room worked once again. She took a steadying breath and lowered her arm as she looked determinedly at Plutt.

"You'll answer all of the questions I'm going to ask you without lying." She ordered.

"I'll answer all of the questions you're going to ask me without lying." The Crolute repeated mechanically.

Rey inhaled deeply before continuing.

"What happened to my parents?"

OoooooO

**9 days after the battle of Crait - On board the **_**Finalizer**_

Kylo sat on the bench facing the bay window in his chambers. Getting lost in the billions of stars and the vastness of space in front of him proved to be the best way to soothe his restless mind, time and time again. That and silence.

He thought back to Viri Pax's reaction a few hours earlier.

The Zabrak had always been the most fantastical of his knights. Following their revolt against Luke his devotion to the Dark Side had been absolute and unrestrained. He followed nothing but the Sith doctrine and thought of the old dark lords as role models that had a God-like status in his mind. There was no uncertainty in him and nothing could shake his convictions. For that, Kylo envied him.

Yet he couldn't afford to let the knight challenge him. _He_ was the Master of the Knights of Ren and the slightest sign of weakness could be fatal to him and his position. There was no room for weakness on the Dark Side. Snoke had reminded him of that often enough.

Anger overcame him immediately as his thoughts strayed towards the tyrannical old man. He tried to dissuade the rage he felt and drive out the thought by centering himself through meditation but the threads of his introspection led him back to her…

_Rey._

He sighed audibly and his heart suddenly felt as if it was wrapped in a layer of ice. Oddly though, he smiled sadly at the feeling. The scavenger, had she been there, would've surely thrown it in his face, probably by making a snarky comment about how monsters like him didn't have hearts.

After several days, the resentment he felt towards the young woman had slowly evaporated and given way to bittersweetness.

Of course, she had rejected him. Everyone had. Why should she be any different? She wasn't interested in Kylo Ren. Only Ben Solo mattered. She had refused his hand and his offer to rule the galaxy with him.

The words he had uttered that night in the throne room had been a surprise even to himself. His guard had been lowered. All because, just after he'd killed Snoke, Rey had looked at him like no one else ever had before: with gratitude in her eyes.

In that instant, he'd been compelled to touch her again.

And then the Praetorian guards had attacked. Him and Rey had fought together, side by side, and when he had been in trouble, she'd thrown him Luke's saber so that he could defeat the last red soldier. Still panting with effort he'd stared at the scavenger and he'd been hit with an implacable certainty: he wanted to share everything with her. Together they would be unstoppable. She was his future. The vision he'd had when he'd touched her hand on Ahch-To didn't have to stay a vision. He had then offered her his world. In extending his hand to her, he had been implicitly offering her the heart that she didn't think he had. Kylo Ren's heart.

She just hadn't wanted it.

The discrete beeping of his datapad suddenly echoed through the room and Ren's head turned towards the small table that it was sitting on. Propped up, its camera was poised towards him and the notification alerted him that a visitor had arrived at the entrance of his quarters. Sylla's face appeared on the screen through the live feed monitoring his door.

Kylo's neck twisted as he faced the entry behind him but he hesitated for a moment before he used the Force to activate it's opening command.

When he did, the feline-like silhouette of the young woman entered immediately and crossed the room to join him, hips swaying suggestively as she walked. She circled the end of the bench as she came to stand in front of him. The anthracite bodysuit she wore was skintight and perfectly moulded around the long lines of her body, leaving nothing to the imagination. Her hair flowed unrestrained around her shoulders and her eyes had been lined with black kohl.

Ren raised his head and held her dark gaze calmly, remaining stoic. Internally though a multitude of contradictory emotions wrested with each other. He was the Master of the Knights of Ren and the most powerful Force user on the ship; he wouldn't be cowed into being the first to look away.

"I missed you." The slender brunette whispered as she took a step towards him.

And he failed. Kylo Ren broke eye contact to stand abruptly and head for the training room next to his overly large bedroom.

It was spacious enough with a range of knives lining the wall to the right of the doorway. A humanoid droid with a missing right arm - thanks to the new Supreme Leader- stood motionless in the middle of the room.

Kylo unfastened his wide belt and pulled off his jacket, setting them both down on a bench off to the side. The sleeveless top he wore underneath his black tunic clung to his massive torso like a second skin and allowed for the pallor of his powerful arms and shoulders to be displayed.

Sylla, who had followed him, paused at the threshold. She leaned against the doorframe as she eyed his well-muscled body.

The young woman ran her tongue across her upper lip and stood there silently as she watched him.

"What do you want Sylla?" Kylo asked suddenly.

"You did well, putting Viri in his place."

He didn't answer, only grabbed a double-bladed training stick and walked slowly towards the mangled droid.

"You know that we're all devoted to you. We'll follow you wherever you go no matter what." The young woman spoke again.

Kylo whirled the staff over his head and struck the droid hard enough to send the top of its skull flying across the room. Sylla couldn't hold herself back anymore. She moved quickly towards him and settled a hand on his shoulder as he was winding up to deliver another blow. He froze min-maneuver and turned towards her so that they were face to face again.

With slow movements she began to slide the zipper down the front of her bodysuit. Kylo watched as the knight's finger slid ever downwards to reveal the entirety of her breasts followed by the satiny smooth skin of her tanned stomach. She then languidly unveiled one shoulder, followed by the other, before she dragged the suit down her arms, hips, and thighs. She toed off her boots before she freed her ankles from the fabric, never breaking eye contact. When she stood completed naked in front of him, Kylo dropped his weapon and it clattered to the floor with a loud crash.

"Sylla…" he murmured, face still impassive.

She drew closer to him and pressed her body up against his as her hot lips found his Adam's apple. Still, he didn't move. Just closed his eyes and tried to get ahold of his breathing. His body suddenly felt overheated.

"I could never forget that night on Korriban," she whispered as she laid her hands flat against Kylo's pecs. She then dragged them down his torso as she continued. "Let go. This is me begging you." She whispered. "Snoke isn't here to stop us being together this time"

He hadn't forgotten that night in Snoke's palace on Korriban either. It was the first and only time he'd tasted the exquisite pleasures of the flesh. Their Master had subsequently forbidden them from doing it again after punishing them both severely. The old man had then doubled down on getting a mental hold on Kylo and keeping the young woman away from his apprentice as much as possible.

Sylla dropped to her knees in front of Ren. She unfastened his pants and began to lower them until the tops of his thighs were exposed. Then, without shame or hesitation, she slid down his underwear. His cock sprung from his undergarments fully erect and Sylla pulled it immediately into her half-open mouth. It didn't take much to know what she was planning on doing, but he had other ideas. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up before pressing her roughly against one of the rooms metal walls. She gasped at the impact but Kylo didn't pay her any mind. With his body lined up against hers he dominated her in both height and width. Sylla gave him a satisfied smile which he returned before spinning her around and pressing her front into the icy wall.

He was well aware that the beautiful brunette was dangerous. The Dark Side had gifted him with exceptional faculties. While the power of persuasion that Force users wielded was generally only effective on the weak-minded, she was capable of manipulating anyone's will. Kylo couldn't afford to lose control, not ever, but especially not like this. He erected an impenetrable barrier around his mind as he appreciated the curve of Sylla's ass until he could no longer restrain himself.

He was ashamed of what he was going to do, but the wave of desire that engulfed him didn't allow him to think properly. The muscles of his lower stomach pressed into the firm roundness of her ass as he slid one knee in between her thighs and kicked them further apart. At his touch, she arched her back and bowed slightly forwards, both hands pressed flat against the wall in front of her.

Kylo closed his eyes and Rey's face appeared unbidden behind his eyelids. He hesitated and Sylla, who could sense his reluctance, reached back to rest and inviting hand against his thigh. She gasped lightly as Ren's feverish fingers slid the young woman's hair over one of her shoulders, bearing her neck to him. He wondered idly if Rey's slightly coppery locks would feel as silky as Sylla's did against his skin. They would. He was sure of it.

He bowed his head to suck lightly at the base of Sylla's neck and pressed his torso firmly against the expanse of her tanned back as she let out a hoarse groan. The spicy flavour of her skin tingled against his lips. He recognized the taste and scent. It came from the body oils often worn by women from Verda, Sylla's home planet.

He couldn't help but remember the way that Rey smelled. Her scent was more subtle. A mixture of sun warmed sand, clean air, and leather. When he'd interrogated her on _Starkiller_ and tried to get into her head, the fragrance emanating from her body had been permanently burned into his memory. He had also picked up on the hint of a flowery smell that came from her hair. It reminded him of Naboo's vast meadows that he had once run endlessly through as a child while his mother had been busy visiting the queen.

The soft flesh of Sylla's ass as she pressed it back into his hard cock brought him out of his head and back to reality. She had worked herself up and was now panting, legs spread invitingly. He reached around her body to palm gently at her breasts and her nipples puckered at his touch. The way that her flesh barely fit in his palms was somewhat off putting. Kylo knew that his large hands would be able to completely swallow up Rey's breasts if given the chance. He had unintentionally memorized the curves of her modest chest behind the drapings of her tunic while she had been unconscious in the interrogation chair. Then she had woken up and he had removed his mask only to be dazzled by her brown and green irises. Sylla's eyes, in contrast, were as dark as midnight and blended in with her pupils. They were two bottomless pits that promised to swallow up every particle of light they could find.

The female knight quivered with impatience. Kylo knew that he woudn't last long once he started fucking her. It had been years since he'd yielded to any sort of call of the flesh. There hadn't been room to do it, not while Snoke occupied every inch of his mind. The old man had been aware of his deepest thoughts and desires and had intentionally deprived him of any sort of intimacy. He had been played like a puppet, but that was no longer.

Sylla shuttered as Kylo penetrated her, cock pressing into her hot core with a single stroke. The delicious feeling of the intrusion made her groan. One of Kylo's hands trailed down her body to caress the bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs, the flesh was already pulsing which made it easy to find. She dripped around cock and her skin ran hot under his touch. He set a brutal pace as he played with her clit and when she panted her enjoyment Kylo found himself doing the same. He thrusted faster as ecstasy rose in waves that grew stronger and stronger with each stroke.

"Ren!"

His name came from Sylla's mouth in a loud cry and her legs shook, unable to support the weight of her body. Kylo grabbed her around the waist to keep her from collapsing on the floor at his feet, but all he heard was Rey's voice.

_Ben… _

She was there. With him. Pressed up against him. She was the one panting under his desperate movements as she climaxed, it was her achingly wet and exceptionally tight pussy that was wrapped around his cock, her who was moaning her pleasure under his deft fingers, eager to have him fill her…

Kylo's heart burned in his chest. He was close to finishing and Sylla was still shaking in his arms. He came inside of her without warning and pumped her full of hot ropes of his spend as pleasure flooded his body. One of his hands joined hers on the wall as not to lose balance. He bit his tongue to keep himself from calling the name of the woman he knew wasn't pressed up against him, but his muted cry ricocheted through the webbing of the Force as he tried in vain to catch his breath.

What Kylo would never know was that at that exact moment, on the other side of the galaxy, on a small desert planet in the cramped bunk of an old corillian fighter, a young scavenger awoke with a start. Her heart pounded, her cheeks burned, and she was achingly wet between her thighs. Ecstasy rolled through her lower stomach before it overtook her entire body as she heard a distant voice shout her name. A bizarrely familiar voice.

OoooooO


	6. CHAPTER 5

**10 days after the battle of Crait - Jakku - Inner Rim:**

Rey was awakened by a repeated pounding against the door of her sleeping quarters. She struggled to get up but eventually managed to crawl painfully out of bed.

"I can hear you! I'm coming!" She grumbled hoarsely.

Chewie growled from behind the thick metal wall before she heard him walk down the ship's hallway and away from her room with heavy steps. She had slept in her clothes and couldn't even begin to claim she was well rested.

After returning to the _Falcon_ in the middle of the night, she had had a hard time falling asleep and scarcely after finally reaching it she had bolted upright on her bunk, her eyes tired, breath short, and body trembling. She had been in a panic and had tried to understand what was happening. But her head was devoid of thoughts, filled instead with Ben's instantly recognizable voice and the intense sensation of pleasure radiating out from her belly like a supernova.

She just had an orgasm. It was the first time that this had happened to her without any sort of provocation.

She had never felt shame in recalling the intimate caresses she lavished on herself on the loneliest nights on Jakku – sometimes, it was the only way to find comfort in the vast emptiness that had been her miserable life.

But this one was different. It didn't feel like it was completely hers. It felt like the aftershocks of someone else's.

Had she fantasized about Ben? Had he managed to somehow revive the Force bond? Had he… touched her while she had been asleep? She knew it was possible to make physical contact with him through the bond, but she didn't know if Ben could do it from thousands of light-years away while she was unconscious. Her attempt to go back to sleep had failed miserably when, in addition to that, she had tried to process what she had discovered in Niima.

The purring of her cabin's ventilation system brought her back to herself.

It was morning now and Rey scrubbed both of her hands over her face in an attempt to order her thoughts.

In just a few minutes, she would be seeing Maz again. With stiff movements she walked over to the washbasin tucked into the corner of her room. She splashed her face with water and adjusted her tunic. The little leather bag was still attached to her belt and hung against her thigh. She placed a hand on it as if to confirm that its contents were still there and then looked up to the little mirror on the wall. An unflattering reflection stared back at her. She looked truly awful, but there was nothing for it. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her staff, nodded at the little rag doll that lay on her bunk, and stalked out of her quarters.

OoooooO

Maz Kanata was the same smart-looking spitfire of a woman that Rey had met on Takodana. The First Order's destruction of her castle hadn't altered her ardor or character in any way. Although one thing had changed: she didn't want to stay at the fringes of the rebellion anymore lurking in the shadows. Now she wanted to be at the very heart of the action.

She was at the head of what she called the "Maz Squad", a group of about thirty mercenaries and space cowboys ready to do anything to annihilate the First Order.

So far, they had carried out a number of raids against strategic outposts and enemy installations. They were no doubt insufficient in completely disarming the powerful organization but, at the very least, Maz could brag about the fact that she was a thorn in dear General Hux's side.

The first light of dawn had broken across the sands of Jakku.

Maz's ship had landed close to the _Millenium Falcon_ at the pre-arranged rendezvous point in the carcass of the Imperial cruiser. When the ramp of her ship lowered, the twenty rescued miners spilled from the mouth of it first. They were in rough shape, and some of them even sported visible injuries. Their clothes were nothing but rags and they were all extremely thin. Rey's throat tightened and she immediately thought of Rose. She exhorted them to board the _Falcon_ immediately. As the miners passes her one by one, each of them gave her a solemn nod and a grateful look. Some of them managed a smile and one old woman came up and gave her a silent but firm handshake.

These people were broken; broken but free. They would rebuild. Painfully, and slowly, but they would recover. Rey would take care of it. She made the promise silently to herself.

Her feet moved almost before she'd made the conscious decision as she rushed forwards to support a young boy who looked like he was on the verge of toppling under his own weight. Rey was quick to beckon Chewie over who swept the boy up in his arms as if he was as light as a feather.

Maz finally made her appearance at the top of the ramp when all of the miners had disembarked. Behind her stood the five members of her crew, three of them carrying crates filled with Haysien ore.

"Chewie!" She exclaimed, sprinting towards the Wookiee, like a moth drawn to a flame.

Seeing the little woman coming down the metal bridge, Chewie made a sudden turn with an embarrassed grunt and bolted inside of the _Falcon_, still carrying the boy in his arms.

"Just as shy as always, my beautiful stallion!" Maz said with a smile, giving up her pursuit in favour of standing in front of Rey. She peered at the doorway Chewie had just disappeared into. "At least I'm patient." She chuckled, turning towards the scavenger and grabbing her hand to give it a squeeze. "I'm pleased to see you again, my child. And I'm glad you found Luke."

"Luke is dead, Maz."

"I know. But believe it or not, Rey, no one is ever really gone."

The last miner had boarded the Corellian freighter by now and Maz's crew, armed to the teeth and visibly nervous, began to re-board their own ship. One of them approached the two women.

"Where are you taking them?" Asked the burly man with shaggy red hair.

Maz raised her free hand to his face, silently telling him to shut up.

"The less we know, the safer the Resistance is, Zikko."

The large fellow spun on his heels without saying anything else and walked away. Maz then motioned for the young woman to follow her and both of them sat on an old compressor to continue their conversation.

"Did you find what you were looking for on Ahch-To?" She asked. "Leia told me that Luke had retired there."

Her small inquisitive eyes pierced Rey's, but the scavenger held her gaze with determination.

"He didn't want to mentor me."

"I suspected as much," Maz chuckled. "But don't think you didn't learn anything during the time you spent on the island. Luke turned the place into his own personal purgatory for rehashing mistakes and left no room for finding peace. All the while denying the Force."

"How do you know all of that?" Rey couldn't help but ask cautiously.

"The Force sent me a vision of him a few years after he disappeared. Don't ask me why, I don't even know that myself, but I saw everything there was to see about his life over there. I could feel his dismay, his regret, and his remorse. I saw him wandering the lost island alone in the middle of the ocean."

"Why didn't you tell us all of that on Takodana? Why didn't you inform the Resistance?"

"And tell them what? That Luke Skywalker turned his back on the cause? That he had given up and would rather lurk on a rock in the middle of nowhere instead of fight? Also, to be frank, at the time I didn't know that he was hiding on Ahch-To."

Rey sighed as she closed her eyes, which prompted Maz into continuing.

"When I met you on Takodana, I felt your determination and I knew that the Force lived within you. And then, when Luke's saber called to you in the basement of the castle, I knew that you might be the only one who could convince him to come back."

"I failed." The young woman replied solemnly. "And you're wrong, I didn't learn a single thing over there. Even when the Dark Side lured me into a cave at the heart of the island with the promise of answers, I didn't learn anything."

"I'm not so sure about that. Something within you has changed. I feel it. I think that it had the opposite effect on you, that it was perhaps the place of all revelations."

"I wanted answers about my past and I didn't get any." Rey said firmly.

"Really? And about your future?"

"I don't get it…" The young woman spluttered before trailing off.

Rey felt deeply unsettled. The smuggler always seemed to be one step ahead of her. Maz laughed.

"I'm one thousand two hundred and twenty-eight years old, my dear. The Force and I are old friends, you understand."

Maz stared at her insistently, her eyes demanding an answer. With the simple look, Rey realized that she had to lay all of her cards on the table. The words that the alien had uttered in the basement of the castle came back to her at once, their meaning now clear.

"On Takodana, when you told me that the ones I was waiting for would never come back, but that someone else could…"

"The 'someone else' was not Luke."

Maz's voice was calm and postured. Rey opened her mouth, but no words managed to break through the barrier of her lips.

"You know who I want to talk about now. And you're right to think that Skywalker made a terrible mistake. He thought that everything had been lost, that the Dark Side had won, but you know he was wrong. You've felt it… the light that still shines from inside of Kylo Ren. And you wanted to bring him back. I would have done the same thing. Ben Solo back on the Light Side and the First Order wavers."

The young woman nodded in agreement.

"The first time I felt the conflict in him was when he searched my mind on _Starkiller_." Rey explained.

"Rotten luck for him then because he woke up what had been buried within you for so long: your ability to master the Force."

"I could see into his mind too…"

"And you haven't emerged for this ordeal unscathed. A sort of transfer seems to have occurred… Ben received both Jedi and Sith training and, it's amazing, but you seem to have absorbed some of these teachings. I think that's what happened because I have never heard of an inexperienced Force-sensitive being mastering her own powers so quickly."

Rey sucked in a surprised breath at the realization that Maz had to be right.

"A strange connection has formed between the two of you." The smuggler continued. "That's why you can see the light still nestled deep inside of him."

"I failed to convince him and realized too late that it was just a trap. I went to him without thinking." Rey retorted in disagreement.

"The trap seems to have worked against him." Maz laughed before growing serious again. "The bonds that are created between two Force-sensitive beings are very powerful. To be honest, I've only witnessed this kind of thing at one other time in my life. It was between Luke and Leia, who were twins, as you're aware. Family ties obviously induce a particular connection, but perhaps, compassion or empathy can also be at the root of such a bond. Love could be another…"

Maz stopped speaking and Rey lowered her gaze towards the ground in an attempt to mask the panic that had suddenly seized her.

"Rey…" the little alien breathed out, her face frozen.

The sand under the scavenger's feet had never been as interesting to look at as it was right now.

"You… you have feelings for him."

_Cards on the table._

Rey could continue to lie to everyone on Arbra. To repeat day and night that Kylo Ren was a monster, that he had chosen to turn his back on her and to surrender himself, body and soul, to the darkness, dreaming of nothing but power and destruction. He had murdered his father in cold blood, had wanted to do the same to his mother, and everyone else who remained a part of the Resistance…

But here, in front of Maz, the truth of the matter couldn't be ignored. What she felt deep down inside was irrational. It was shameful and deplorable.

Yes. She cared about him.

Tears began to flow down Rey's cheeks in a silent confession. Liberating tears. Tears that implored the forgiveness of all those she held dear. She felt as if she was betraying every single person who had faith in her. How would they ever be able to understand it when she couldn't even understand it herself?

She told Maz what had really happened on Ahch-To and the _Supremacy_. She also told her of her confusion as her fingers had touched his. She talked about her irrational hope, in the throne room, that Ben would make the decision to return to the light, and of her immeasurable disappointment when he had dashed that hope with a few simple words: _"It's time to let old things die."_

"I don't even know what I'm feeling now," she admitted, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

She waited for the smuggler's reaction with bated breath. The alien only scratched her forehead, looking pensive and still a little shocked.

"What am I supposed to do, Maz? I'm terrified. Am I running the risk of going to the Dark Side?"

The little woman's expression veiled itself almost imperceptibly.

"I don't have an answer for either of those questions." She sighed. "All I know is that you still haven't reached your full potential. I'm sure of it. That's why Snoke was scared of you, why he wanted you dead."

"I have no one to guide me now. Only old books and a broken lightsaber. My parents sold me like an object."

"Did you go to Niima?" Maz asked reproachfully.

The conversation veered off suddenly in a completely different direction than it had been going.

"I had to know the truth. I went to visit Unkar Plutt last night. Ben was right. My parents were junk traders who did business with the worst of Niima's scoundrels. They scoured Jakku's neighboring planets looking for anything and everything that could be sold. Plutt said that they were called Tark and Iona."

"Tark and Iona," Maz repeated, as if lost in thought.

Rey felt tears well up in her eyes again, but she pushed them back as best she could.

"I tried to remember them, to hang on to any little detail I could, to put faces to the names I had forgotten. How could I have forgotten their _names_, Maz?"

Rey was almost at her breaking point and the alien hastened to take her hand again.

"Plutt also told me that they were off their heads most of the time. Alcohol, drugs… they usually spent their nights at the tavern."

Rey was having more and more trouble breathing, it felt like her chest was being crushed, and each of her muscles began to seize.

"_They sold you for drinking money."_

Ben had been right. She had waited her entire life for people who had used her as a bartering chip for a cheap gut twister and a dose of glitterstim.

Rey thought back to how disgusted she had felt upon learning all of this yesterday.

Her legs had buckled underneath her, and she had only caught herself on the nearby table at the last second as the hold she had on Plutt's will faltered. The Crotule had blinked several times, suddenly taking notice of the fact that he had been acting against his own will.

Rey had sucked down a big gulp of air before refocusing. She had then asked if anyone on Jakku had known them well. Plutt told her of an old smuggler, reputed to be a dealer. He often lurked about the tavern and his name was Pandor. Tamping down the nausea that had overcome her, the scavenger had ordered the Crolute to forget everything that had transpired between them and go back to sleep. As Unkar had collapsed with all of his weight against his filthy mattress, Rey had staggered out of his shack before vomiting out what she had in her stomach behind the tent.

"I found the glitterstim dealer, Pandor Tellis, in the tavern. I dragged him outside and made him tell me everything." Rey continued.

"_Your mother started using like your father right after you were born. They always wanted more. I didn't need other customers; their business alone could have kept me afloat. They would do anything for a dose. Your father had always been someone special. Strange, I would say. Worrying even. The other scrap dealers were always a little afraid of him. I remember one day when he threw Gert clean across the room in the middle of a fight while barely even lifting a finger. No one bothered him after that. He was a real character, I tell you. Besides that, I'm not sure that he was quite right in the head… something always seemed to be gnawing at him. That's why he needed the glitterstim. He once told me that he used it to "calm his demons". I still wonder how they managed to look after you for as long as they did when they couldn't even stand up most days. Anyways, one day they didn't come to our appointment at the tavern and I never saw them again. Later on, another trader told me he had found them dead in a wreck in the northern reaches of the desert. The guy kept their ship and whatever else they had with them. He was a rather charitable fellow actually because he took the time to bury them not far from here. He also needed a new speeder and I had one. So he paid me with what was in the pockets of your father's jacket."_

Rey's eyes were now clouded and unseeing. While she had been talking to Maz, her hand had unconsciously plunged into the little leather bag hanging from her belt. She pulled out the item she had taken from Pandor Tellis, a gold broach covered in verdigris. She handed the object to the alien who examined it carefully. The piece of jewelry was round and the stamp it bore resembled a stylized flower carved with fine lines. At the back, there was some sort of engraved lettering that had come close to being worn away with time.

Maz looked up at Rey and stared at her in astonishment.

"You said that this belonged to your father?"

Rey nodded her head in affirmation.

"That's what Pandor told me. He wasn't lying, I read his mind. He kept it with him after all this time to "save it for a rainy day". Apparently, it's valuable. I forced him to give it to me. I've seen the emblem before though. On a pilot's uniform inside of the wreck of an _N-1 Naboo fighter_ in the desert. My parents were junk traders. They must have found the pin while they were scavenging a nearby system or maybe even here, on Jakku."

"That's impossible." Maz said firmly.

The seriousness of her tone and expression aroused a sudden anxiety in the young woman.

"Why's that? It's the emblem of Naboo's fleet, right?"

"No, child." Maz said with a hard voice. "This is the emblem of the Royal Council. Such a piece of jewelry can only be worn by a high dignitary of the palace or by the ruler of Naboo himself."

OoooooO

**10 days after the battle of Crait - On board the **_**Finalizer**_

Armitage Hux had always been a supporter of order and discipline. He took an undisguised pleasure in seeing his troops standing at attention in tidy rows and observing every subordinate he had engaged in conscientiously performing the task that had been assigned to them. Every droid, mechanic, and officer had a precise role to play in the great enterprise that was the First Order. They operated like a well-oiled machine, efficient and all powerful.

He was standing on the glass walkway overlooking hangar six when he heard footsteps come up behind him and stop next to him. He didn't have to turn his head to know the identity of the person who disturbed his precious moment of solitude. The subtle scent of exotic flowers caressed his nostrils and a slight smile graced his lips.

"I hope that you're well settled and that your reunion with our beloved Supreme Leader has unfolded in just the way you wanted it to."

When Hux finally decided to glance sideways to his left he realized that Sylla was staring at the swarm of troops below them. She stood motionless with hands crossed behind her, imitating his own militant posture. Her face remained expressionless despite Hux's innuendo. A long silence settled between the two of them before the brunette finally spoke.

"You hate him, do you not?" She asked directly, without any embellishment.

The secret to Hux's survival, all of the years he had spent serving the most powerful and feared in the galaxy could be summed up in two words: prudence and submission.

However, since Snoke's death, something that threatened to dash his beautiful resolutions roiled within him. He could no longer restrain his ambition. He felt that the situation could shift in his favour and he knew that he was going to do everything he could to make things go in that direction. And he knew exactly how to achieve his ends in this particular moment.

"I admit that I do not always approve of Ren's decisions and that I still have questions about Snoke's death." He said.

"You made that clear during our last audience with Kylo. You're lucky that he didn't eviscerate you then and there."

"It seems that I'm not the only one with some… reluctance to obey the new Supreme Leader blindly."

Sylla turned her head towards him.

"You want to talk about Viri?" She asked, amused. "Simply male rivalry. It has always been that way between them. The strongest warring for dominance. It is in the nature of all Sith heirs to want to outdo their masters."

Hux's forehead wrinkled slightly. Had Sylla just confessed that she also suspected Ren of being responsible for Snoke's death?

_Prudence and submission. _

"All of you combined are an undeniable strength to the First Order. Kylo certainly plans to have you take an important place at his side. The systems that will be coming under our control soon will need governors at their heads. In any case it would be a pity if he confined you to the direction of a few squadrons of stormtroopers."

"Don't you worry about our future, Hux." Sylla said with a cheerful smile.

"Oh, but make no mistake, I'm not worried about you. I just want to make sure that nothing and no one will be able to annihilate everything that Snoke has had such a hard time rebuilding after the fall of the Empire."

"The Rebellion had been reduced to nothing. Skywalker is dead, and with him the hope of seeing the Jedi Order reborn. The New Republic has been pulverized. All systems have been weakened and destabilized. We have the power and the means to make them bend without any pushback. I'd love to hear what you think we have to fear."

Hux took a deep breath and chose his next words carefully.

"Not what… who. I'm thinking of the girl that seems to have become dear Kylo Ren's new obsession."

The woman at his side was fascinating. If, as he had hoped, his words had managed to intrigue her, she did not let it appear as such. She remained still for several seconds, her gaze fixed on the speeders parked along the hangar walls, her face calm and serene. Hux only realized that he had touched a nerve when she opened her mouth again to talk in a falsely detached tone.

"You're speaking of the scavenger who killed Snoke?"

Hux then rushed to press down on the weakness she had shown him without hesitation.

"He took her captive on Takodana and wished to interrogate her personally before delivering her to Snoke. And not only did he get nothing out of it, but when he came from the interrogation room I had never seen him so troubled. Miraculously, the girl managed to escape shortly after that."

"And there lies the proof of the complete incompetence of your men, General Hux." Sylla spat, the mask of a blank face she had been putting on suddenly shattering.

"And then she returned a few days ago, as if by magic, practically throwing herself to us. Seemingly without any reason at all. Strange, I'm sure you'll agree. I do wonder what exactly she came to do on the _Supremacy_. Or perhaps more precisely who she came looking for."

"Surely her rebel friends who were apparently aboard the ship too. One wonders what's left of your dear… Phasma, is it? I'm sure we'll find a much more effective replacement for her."

At the mention of the name of his former acolyte, Hux had no more reluctance in spitting his venom.

"Ren disagreed with Snoke about the girl's fate. He wanted to make her his apprentice against the Supreme Leader's wishes. He said that she showed incredible potential, that she was exceptional. Apparently, the scavenger caught his eye."

The sound of cracking glass punctuated Hux's words, silencing the soldier instantly. The window in front of him had cracked from top to bottom. Sylla hadn't moved a millimeter but her body was now as taut as a bowstring and her fists were clenched behind her back. Amitage didn't dare to so much as breathe. He had gone too far.

Overconfident, he had neglected prudence. It was now necessary to bet everything he had on submission. He went on without hesitating:

"Even though the girl has some ability and has been able to resist both Ren and Snoke, she's alone now. She won't be able to do anything up against five knights of Ren who are devoted to the First Order. I must admit that she has a certain courage… if not recklessness. If she and her band of rebel vermin are crazy enough to confront us again, or if she persists in trying to thwart our plans, I hope that the Supreme Leader will be ready to give up on her and inflict on her what she has coming."

"I will tear the girl's heart out myself if necessary, General Hux."

Sylla's words sounded like hatred in its purest form. The knight didn't even bother to give Hux a second look before she took her leave, heading for the exit. When he found himself alone again, Hux forced himself to take slow breaths in and out in order to calm his poor heart that threatened to beat right out of his ribcage. A drop of sweat ran down the side of his temple at the sight of the gigantic fissure in the hangar window. He wiped it quickly away with his gloved hand. He knew that he was lucky not to have suffered the same fate as the glass wall. His pulse gradually took on a less delirious pace and he was able to savour what was, in his eyes, the first victory of many to come.

OooooooO


	7. CHAPTER 6

_Thank you SO MUCH to Nancylovesreylo who has joined this story and helped a lot with the translation ! And thank you to everyone who continues to read._

**CHAPTER 6**

**15 days after the Battle of Crait- On board the **_**Finalizer**_

"Sir, we'll reach Coruscant in about eight minutes. "

Sergeant Datish's face faded away from the holocom to make way for the half-dozen technical blueprints projecting a bluish halo in the semi-darkness of the meeting room. Kylo Ren greeted the information with indifference, staring at the detailed plans in front of him and at the intrigued faces of the Knights of Ren, sitting in their chairs all around the table. Sylla was the only one not there. Even Hux was present. It was he who, for the past fifteen minutes, had been explaining the latest technological advances made by their teams of scientists.

"It's absolutely amazing," the general said enthusiastically. "We will make a phenomenal leap forward in the field of armament."

Shortly before the completion of _Starkiller_ base, the First Order explorers sent to the far reaches of the galaxy made an interesting discovery in the unknown regions: a seemingly ordinary and habitable planet on which they had, first and foremost, thought to install a new training center for stormtroopers. But to their surprise, further study of the planet revealed the existence of a multitude of underground kyber crystal deposits. The mines on Lothal were almost depleted, as well as those on the few other planets that had once produced the precious source of energy. Ilum had been sacrificed to become the _Starkiller_ base. And now, there was nothing left. This promising planet, dubbed Sato, was a real godsend and assured the First Order a new energy monopoly.

Snoke then ordered the establishment of a research center. The planet also harbored many rocky canyons dotted with shallow caves, inside which was a strange, unlisted ore. And it turned out that this mineral was able to greatly amplify the power of the kyber crystals when combined.

"The ore acts as a catalyst. I'll spare you the details, but it seems that if we combine the crystals with the ore in the right proportion, we could multiply their energy output by a thousand."

Silence reigned around the table. Hux was rather proud of the effect his news had on his audience.

"Supreme Leader," he dared, "we could revive the construction of a new _Starkiller_ base using this planet. Snoke had ordered new plans. You have them in front of you right now. Sato is about the same size as Ilum, and this time we would not make the same mistakes in …"

"No," Ren cut him off in an unequivocal tone.

Hux, taken aback, shot him an indignant look.

"But we need ... "

"I said no, General!"

This time, Kylo's icy look pierced the soldier, who closed his dry mouth and swallowed his saliva.

"I do not want a new Starkiller base," he said. "I want five."

Hux thought for a moment that he had misunderstood and stared at him with round eyes. Ren did not give him time to recover from his surprise.

"No planets, but rather smaller structures. More mobile. They must have energy fields that render them invulnerable to attack. They need to be real warships in addition to being destructive weapons, and they'll have to operate with the minimum staff necessary for smooth operation, so that we can limit our losses in case of destruction. And since the power of kyber crystals can be amplified, it's unnecessary to use Quintessence to power their weaponry. We all saw the limitations and disadvantages of a single weapon such as the _Starkiller_ base: too much energy concentrated in one place, too much reload time, and the need for a star to be exhausted nearby. I want these weapons to be improved copies of the Empire's Death Stars. They will have to act autonomously for smaller targets or combine their power by encircling a larger objective to be destroyed. As you say, Hux, let's learn from the mistakes of the past."

The general was still stunned by the news and was struggling to find his words. Who would have thought that Kylo Ren would finally have some common sense?

"How did you know about ..." Hux began.

"I came across a report from one of our young researchers. Apparently, his superiors did not see fit to take him seriously."

Hux winced.

"I heard about the impractical idea of this lowly technician. Chief Engineers found the project unrealistic and too expensive. I find his idea brilliant, and I want him to be promoted to the head of the whole team. I want reports on the progress of the project regularly," Kylo ordered.

"But it will cost a fortune! Not to mention the zersium we'll need to negotiate for and extract on the planet Nag Ubdur!"

"Money is not a problem," Ren announced as the _Finalizer_ finally came out of hyperspace.

The dark surface of Coruscant, studded with billions of luminous points, appeared behind the bay window. The spectacle it offered, when seen from space, was always so fascinating.

"Sylla is about to leave the ship to negotiate financing for our future operations with the five largest banks in Galactic City. And you know how convincing she can be. Nor do I need to tell you that we have more than enough financial resources in many accounts on Coruscant. Snoke was a master at preparing for every contingency. As for the zersium, well ... We only have to annex the planet Nag Ubdur."

"Just that!" Hux gasped.

"Send about twenty squadrons of stormtroopers. The Ubudians do not have the strength to resist us."

"I'll go with them, Master, to make sure everything goes well," Bram said.

Kylo Ren thanked him with a nod.

"I also want you to make sure they stop using slave families in the mines," he added to the young Arkanian.

Everyone around the table froze as if Kylo Ren had just announced the worst of enormities.

"Kylo ..." Elias began, before being instantly silenced by the raised hand of the Master of the Knights of Ren.

"I said," he said slowly, weighing each syllable, "we will never again use slave families on the planets under our control. Only criminals and proven opponents of the First Order will now be condemned to work as slave labor. I want every inhabitant of the galaxy to become loyal to our cause. And one of the keys to loyalty is the image we project. We must inspire respect and fear, but also a sense of security. We will pay the workers and the miners. We will provide them with our protection. All those who oppose this decision declare themselves as enemies of the First Order and will be treated as such. Spread the message, Hux."

"I do not think that…"

"How many of you still want to discuss my decisions?" Kylo screamed, getting up suddenly.

He received only general silence as an answer.

With a wave of the hand, he turned off the holocom.

OooooO

Kylo Ren was holding his lightsaber in front of him in his usual fighting posture. The crackling of the blade covered his panting breath as he grabbed the guard with both hands. His face, illuminated by the scarlet glow of the beam, was covered with sweat, and some of his dark locks were sticking to his temples.

Yehnu had made progress, that was certain. And he could feel the underlying animosity in every move Viri Pax made. Two against one. He loved that.

Once the meeting was over, Kylo had decided that a training session with his comrades was a good idea. It had been too long since he had had the opportunity to compete with them. And it was the perfect excuse for him to let out the aggression he had been trying to contain for the past several days.

During the many discussions he'd had with his knights since their arrival, the same subjects came up again and again: the future of the First Order, the annihilation of what was left of the Resistance and, above all, what the new Supreme Leader should do for the spread of the Sith doctrine throughout the galaxy. Viri Pax was the most insistent on this last point, but he knew that all the others agreed with Viri.

Kylo Ren was boiling inside. His disciples still did not understand. The past must disappear. All these old shabby beliefs and narrow dogmas were only hindrances. The Jedi. The Sith. He hated them all.

The Jedi tried to repress his true potential while the Sith wanted to make him a simple obedient puppet. It had to be shattered.

Moreover, he had also thought of renaming the First Order, which continued, under this name, to convey the image of Snoke. He had shared this idea with Hux, who smiled politely.

Viri Pax attacked his left flank. Kylo turned and parried before the Zabrak's sword hit him in the thigh. Nobody held back his blows — this was the rule imposed on the Knights. If the Master was not strong enough to defeat his followers in combat, then he was not worthy to be at the helm of the Dark Side warrior group. Yehnu went on trying to hit him on the right side. The blades clashed and swirled for several minutes in a multicolored, sizzling ballet. His opponents were talented, but they were no match for him. His mastery of the Force allowed him to anticipate their movements a fraction of a second before they moved. He knew them too well. They were predictable, unlike ... her.

Everyone was wondering why a simple scavenger from Jakku had been able to get the better of him in the forest on Starkiller. It was simple. She had acted instinctively. Each of her strikes, each of her movements ... Nothing had been calculated. He had been unable to read her as he had done for so many years with his disciples. And that had destabilized him just like in the interrogation room. This girl was an enigma. This girl was fascinating and had upset all his convictions, everything upon which he had built his certainties since his surrender to the Dark Side.

The blows barely allowed him to relieve his frustration. His movements were inelegant and hasty. At the Jedi Academy, Luke had always reproached him for his lack of restraint and fluidity in his handling of the lightsaber. Damn Skywalker and his criticisms!

Viri's purple blade whipped through the air just where his throat had been two seconds earlier. He dodged and saw Yehnu ready to reply on his right. The latter had his guard down and Kylo sent his left fist knocking with all his might in the Rattataki's jawbone, who collapsed under the impact and lost his sword. Yehnu felt the metallic taste of blood spilling into his mouth and his vision flickered. Ren took the opportunity to reach out, and his opponent's weapon was instantly in his possession. Seeing his comrade on the ground, Viri called on the Force to try to destabilize their master. He threw a shockwave in his direction, and thought for a moment that he had managed to gain the upper hand when he saw Kylo wobble and struggle desperately to avoid being propelled against the metal wall of the room.

But, now with a sword in each hand, Ren straightened up and raised his head with a smirk. The small household droid in the back of the room, loaded with towels and bottles of water, did not have the same luck.

"All moves are allowed to defeat his opponent. You have learned this lesson well," Kylo said in his deep voice.

Viri's effort to intensify his maneuver snatched him a grimace from his master. But Kylo pinned the Zabrak with his intense brown gaze and, with a dry movement of his head, sent his fellow flying across the room to crash against the polished black ground. Before Viri could regain his senses and get up, Kylo leaned over him, his two blades crossed dangerously a few millimeters from his throat. The Zabrak turned off his lightsaber and raised his left hand, palm upward, announcing that he capitulated. His face was still distorted by anger.

Yehnu had joined Elias who was watching them from a corner of the room, smiling. Ren took a step back, the blades still crossed in front of him. Then he turned with the intention of going to what was left of the little droid and especially to the bottle of water on the ground.

The opportunity was too good. The Zabrak rekindled his sword, got up at lightning speed, and struck knowingly and without hesitation between the shoulder blades of the new Supreme Leader. Kylo felt the threat but not early enough to dodge properly this time. He threw himself to the side but was not fast enough to prevent the laser beam from slashing his left bicep to the bone. Kylo barely stifled his moan and was forced to let go of Yehnu's weapon. The two spectators at the back of the room froze, surprised also by the slyness of their comrade. Viri went on without waiting, galvanized by the effectiveness of his last move. But his joy was short-lived. The red sword at the end of Kylo's working arm shot out like an infernal lightning bolt to slice without mercy into the exposed chest of the Zabrak. Under the impact, he was thrown several meters away and fell again heavily on his back. A gaping wound now ran across his chest, and the edges of his tunic around the wound were burning, giving off smoke. The smell of his own burned flesh filled his nostrils and he lost consciousness.

Kylo was panting now and trying to ignore the pain in his left arm. He walked over to Viri and looked down at him again.

"Training is over," he said coldly, trying to control his breath. Passing in front of Elias and Yehnu, frozen near the door, he added, "Take him to the medical block. An hour in a bacta tank and he'll be like new."

With these words, the Supreme Leader left the training room. He still remained the Master of the Knights of Ren.

ooOoOoOoO

Areb Wilkins had been working for the First Order for twelve years now. He had obtained a technician position in the Finalizer's internal communications department after he failed miserably at the Officers Academy. To tell the truth, he was not deluded too much. He knew very well that the majority of the ship's officers had made their connections work and were most often the sons of former staff members of the old Empire. He, son of no one, and visibly more comfortable with computer circuits and binary language than with a pulse rifle or the canons of a TIE, had quickly understood where his place was. That's why he was strangely surprised when, two days ago, General Armitage Hux himself came to him in the cubicle where he was working to ask him to perform a special mission for him. He was convinced that this was the first time the soldier had set foot on Level (-15) of the _Finalizer_. The astonishment was short-lived and then gave way to a certain pride. Had his work been noticed? Could he hope to climb into the hierarchy and perhaps become the head of his division? Or why not the head of the entire communications department?

The heart of Areb Wilkins was beating wildly in his chest as he stopped at the door of Hux's apartments.

Hell, he had to calm down and avoid saying anything once he was in front of the general. Hand sweaty and throat dry, he quickly ran his fingers through his blond hair to restore a semblance of order and tried to chase away the imaginary dust he feared was on his clothes. He then decided to press the call button in the panel near the door.

Less than five seconds later, the wall slid open and Hux's voice prompted him to enter without waiting. He had walked only a few steps when the door closed instantly behind him.

"Ah, well, here you are, Willis."

The general, from the depths of his little sitting room, motioned him to approach. The poor man, more than intimidated, began to stammer once he was standing at attention in front of his superior: "It's an honor, General, and excuse me my name is ... Wilkins actually …"

"No matter," Hux said in a tone that betrayed both his nervousness and his impatience. "Did you manage to find something?"

"You were right. Lord Snoke's console in the throne room was in permanent recording mode. The data was stored forty-eight hours in the device before being sent to one of our servers at a lower level. I could not access the full video of that day, because the console's memory card was damaged by some sort of energy wave of unknown origin. But I managed to recover some pictures."

The technician pulled down the zipper of his work suit and pulled out a touchpad that he handed to the general. Hux grabbed it and began drumming his fingers on the screen. His face gradually brightened at the sight of the series of pictures scrolling before his eyes.

"All right, Wilson," he said as he turned off the device. "You have followed my advice and remained discreet about this little research done for me, have you not?"

"Yes my general, I did not speak to anybody and I erased all trace of my investigations," the technician hastened to answer, not bothering to try to correct the error of his surname this time.

Hux moved away to put the tablet on the furniture behind him. Areb Wilkins waited without moving, his heart beating and with a triumphant smile on his face. His superior looked satisfied. However, when Hux turned around and the technician saw the blaster pointed at him in the general's right hand, the poor man had just enough time to hear the shot go off before stumbling to the ground at the feet of the redhead who looked upon him with contempt. One last thought crossed his mind before everything became cold and black: he, Areb Wilkins, son of nobody, had definitely had no luck in life.

OooooO

_His outstretched hand was offering everything he had never offered to anyone else. Rey stared at him, her face wet with tears. He blamed himself so much. He did not want to make her cry, but he had no choice. She had to understand that unlike her parents, unlike Skywalker and the Resistance, he was willing to do anything for her, as long as she agreed to be with him. She could not imagine how much she had shaken up his life. She had no idea what she had awakened in him. Rey was not his weakness. He was convinced that she could be his greatest strength, if she wanted him ..._

_"Please… "_

_Around them, the glowing dust of the remaining red drapes of the throne room fluttered in all directions, and time seemed suspended. Just as he had during their unexpected connections of the past few days through the vagaries of the Force, he saw only her. She hesitated a moment. Then she also raised her hand towards him. She took a step and, with a slow gesture, her fingers gripped his. _

_His heart, already pounding, seemed to want to spring out of his chest. Finally, she had let go of the past, as he had asked._

_He wished at that moment to be rid of those damn gloves which deprived him of the contact of her skin against his. He pulled her closer. She looked up at him and he bent softly toward her. Only a few inches separated their faces now. He could feel the warmth emanating from her breath and lithe body. So, without further ado, he put his mouth on hers and closed his eyes. The flavor of her lips was pure delight. Then, with a tenderness all new to him, he deepened their kiss and his tongue began to caress hers. She offered no resistance as their bodies clung to each other. And then he felt the Light __— __Rey's Light. It penetrated each fiber of his body and he let himself be enveloped. It was new and reassuring; __i__t was sublime. He wrapped his arms around her, too frightened that she might decide to run away and deprive him of that moment of absolute ecstasy. Her hand landed on his scarred cheek and he just wanted to merge with her and kiss her for eternity._

_But suddenly, Snoke's scornful laugh echoed in his head again. The heat and the light suddenly gave way to cold and darkness. He opened his eyes and stepped back as if pushed back by an invisible force. Rey was still facing him, her lips still parted and her eyes now empty. Without being able to do anything, he saw the scavenger's body gradually turn to ashes and disintegrate in front of him to end up in a pile of gray dust on the ground at his feet._

_No. It was impossible. Rey ..._

_His lungs emptied and his blood instantly froze in his veins. There was only a void now between his outstretched arms where, a few seconds earlier, the young woman had been nestled in his embrace. He did not understand. Still in shock, he turned in the direction of Snoke's mutilated corpse lying near the throne and saw Viri Pax, Sylla and Hux standing on the platform. All three looked at him with disgust. Especially, Sylla, whose perfect face showed a cold and total hatred. The general suddenly burst out laughing as, without a word, his two disciples activated their lightsabers and rushed straight at him._

"Kylo?"

He opened his eyes sharply.

He was in the shadows.

His throat was dry and his breath short. His head was spinning a little and he instinctively passed his hand over his sweaty face to try to regain a semblance of balance. Reality gradually took over. It took him a few seconds to remember that he was in the medical annex next to his bedroom. His mind, still fogged by the lingering snatches of his dream, perceived Elias' aura in the next room. He inhaled and exhaled deeply to try to control the trembling of his hands. He had to take back control.

"Here," he grumbled, finally straightening up on the stretcher that he had been lying on.

The light of the Bacta-Patch device attached to his injured arm was now flashing, indicating the end of treatment. He clenched his fist and tried to contract the muscles of his biceps to make sure he had regained full use of his lacerated limb. The pain was gone. He would have only one more scar on the spot where Viri had hit him. The massive figure of Elias appeared on the threshold of the room.

"Is everything OK?" asked the tall blond while approaching him. "You have a terrible expression on your face."

Kylo unfastened the patch and threw it into a nearby bin without a glance at the newcomer. He got out of bed and began to put on his tunic. Elias watched him silently.

"Viri?" Ren asked, once dressed.

"He left the infirmary an hour ago. Only his pride is hurt now."

"He will live with it," Kylo sighed, heading for the dining room.

"Can I speak freely?" Elias asked, following suit.

Kylo smiled sarcastically as he grabbed a jug of Corellian wine on the table. He filled two glasses and handed one to the black knight.

"As if you have not always done so," retorted Kylo, emptying his in one gulp.

He was not used to drinking. But there, he needed it. Alcohol might help him push the last reminiscences of his nightmare deep into his brain.

Elias drank too before continuing.

"What happened with Sylla? You seem to have been avoiding her for several days. Did you two …"

"I do not want to talk about that," Kylo snapped. "I made a mistake. It will not happen again."

Elias decided that it was better to give up and then touched on the subject that was really bothering him.

"You cannot blame others for being a little reluctant about any new measures you want to implement in the First Order."

"I am the new Supreme Leader."

The tall blonde sighed. "Yes, you are. Nobody disputes it. And the decisions you made are largely good decisions."

"Largely ?" retorted Kylo, now falling on one of the chairs.

Elias, still standing, paused before continuing.

"First, ending mass slavery in the galaxy will not happen in a day, or without relentless resistance from systems whose entire economy is based on such practices. And we both know that they are numerous. To reserve this fate only to criminals and opponents of the First Order will plunge some planets into chaos."

"They'll have to do it," Ren snorted as he suddenly put his glass on the table.

"We need these billions of people to build our ships and extract the resources we need from the hearts of the planets. Whole families have been enslaved for generations. They only know that way of life. They are only good for being owned by someone else and doing what they are ordered to do."

Kylo slowly looked up at him and Elias saw in his eyes all the violence Ren was trying to suppress right then. Yet he continued.

"Are you sure that your decision has nothing to do with more personal reasons?"

This time the Master of the Knights of Ren stared at his interlocutor with questioning eyes.

"Shmi and Anakin Skywalker," whispered the big blond. "Born slaves. Sold from master to master like ordinary cattle. It's understandable that their fate, and especially the circumstances of your grandfather's childhood, could have influenced your decision."

Kylo leaned back in his seat and clenched his fist on the table. Elias had always been the most insightful of his knights. Ren hated it when his convictions were put to the test. Now, without even using the Force, his friend had the ability to expose the deepest faults in a person's heart and mind. And that annoyed Kylo to no end.

Yet Elias was wrong this time, he tried to convince himself.

He had nothing to do with what had happened to Shmi or Anakin Skywalker. Why would it matter to him? And why, as he tried with all his strength to erase everything that linked him to his life before, did the ghosts of the past always seem to want to come back to haunt him, whatever he did?

"You and the others, you still have not understood…" sighed Kylo. "What motivated my decision has nothing to do with any sentimentalism. I've had a complete break from my family for a while now. What has happened to them, or what will happen to them now, makes me indifferent. This is purely strategic. Slavery is the crucible of rebellion. It is largely because of slavery that the Resistance was born in the days of the Empire. It instilled in people's hearts that spark that pushed them to fight for more equality. That is why the people joined their cause and joined their ranks. That's why my great-grandmother let my grandfather follow Jedi training. And that is why hundreds, thousands of children across the galaxy with extraordinary potential, sensitive to the Force, who could pledge allegiance to the First Order, remain in the shadows today: because they are afraid that we are nothing more than a new version of the Empire."

"I see," retorted Elias.

Kylo saw him weighing in his next words carefully in his head, and he knew what the conversation was about to be.

"But you seem to have forgotten something fundamental. You cannot ask your knights to give up in a few days all that they have sworn their lives to: the dark side and the Sith doctrine."

"I am not a Sith. Snoke was not a Sith. It is you who have decided to hang on to these precepts of another era."

Kylo reached for a new glass of wine.

"_Peace is a lie, there is only passion_," Elias declaimed. "On the contrary, I find that idea rather contemporary. We draw strength from the conflict around us. We are warriors. Without conflict, there is only stagnation. This is our reason for being."

"Well, I offer a new meaning to our existence. Maintain order instead of spreading darkness. Snoke is dead. Skywalker is dead. The time of the Jedi and the Sith is over."

Elias plunged his blue eyes into Kylo's.

"But we are the heirs …"

"We are the Knights of Ren!" corrected the new Supreme Leader. "It is up to us now to build our future and live according to our own rules."

Elias nodded but Kylo was not fooled. It would take time for his disciples to accept his vision of things. But he had faith that they would eventually understand.

"One last thing," Elias added, "what do you do about this girl from Jakku?"

Kylo hesitated as he prepared to bring the glass back to his lips.

"I'll take care of her personally."

"You are the Supreme Leader of the First Order. It will be done according to your will."

Elias lowered his eyes without a word and bowed to his master, ready to leave.

"Wait," Kylo asked him one last time. "Where is Viri Pax right now?"

"I saw him heading for his quarters."

The two men exchanged a knowing glance.

"Be careful with him," Elias advised. "He has always been one to carry a strong grudge."

"Me too," retorted Kylo.

OooooO

Sitting in an armchair in his living room, his arms resting on the wide armrests, Hux looked at the little domestic droid with a satisfied air, cleaning the last traces of blood that stained the anthracite floor. Suddenly, the familiar sound of his holopad sounded again. Yet he was not expecting anyone this late in the afternoon. When he glanced at the window that had just appeared on the screen, he straightened abruptly in his seat and looked astonished. A black silhouette was standing in front of his door. He immediately recognized the characteristic mantle of the Knights of Ren. Hux had barely opened the door to his quarters before the shadow rushed into the room and came to stand before him.

"To what do I owe this visit from you?" he purred, still unaware of his visitor's identity.

Apparently, the knight wanted to keep the mystery a little longer. It was a man and the hood pulled over his head completely masked his face.

"I thought you were all busy with your dear Supreme Leader. I'm sure that you're going to be," Hux said with a chuckle.

The black figure remained motionless and dumb.

_Bad idea_, the general almost immediately lashed out at him.

"It seems you and I have more enemies in common than I thought, General," the enigmatic stranger finally announced.

_This voice ..._ The soldier finally thought he had guessed who it belonged to.

An approving grin blossomed on Armitage's pursed lips. Initially suspicious and defensive, Hux felt all his courage come back in force. It was time to play his master card.

"You know, you can be yourself at ease," he said with difficulty, pointing to the hood on the knight's head. "We are sheltered from indiscreet eyes and ears here."

A few seconds of heavy silence passed by before the knight finally revealed his face.

"Very good," Hux said, jubilant, reassured to know that the man was finally trusting him. "In fact, it's lucky that you came to find me because I have something to show you."

Eyes bright with satisfaction, Armitage Hux, who could not stop smiling, walked to grab Areb Wilkins's precious tablet on his desk.

It was the beginning of the end of the Supreme Leader, Kylo Ren.

ooooo


	8. CHAPTER 7

**15 days after the Battle of Crait-New Rebel Base-Planet Arbra:**

"I'm sorry," Finn whispered.

"At least I know now. I don't have to wait anymore," Rey sighed.

The two young people were sitting in the former stormtrooper's room. Rey had decided to tell him the whole truth about her parents. She had even shown him the brooch taken from the guy on Jakku, and explained to him how much she wanted to find out the whole story behind how her father had come to have it in his possession. Now she had a sad and resigned face. Finn hated seeing her like that.

"Don't tell anyone right now, okay?" she begged.

"I won't say anything," the young man promised.

Rey nodded in thanks. Finn could see she was shaken even though she was trying to save appearances. He was beginning to know her well. And the story of this brooch, which came from who knows where, was actually very intriguing. The young woman stood up and went to open the door to go out. Finn followed and caught her in the middle of the hallway.

"Hey!" he said, seizing her arm gently to make her turn around.

Rey kept her head down. He suspected she did not want to let him see that she was about to cry. With a tender gesture, he slipped a lock of hair that had escaped from one of her buns behind her ear, and she finally raised her wet eyes to him.

"Come here," he whispered before taking her in his arms.

She returned the hug without a word. This feeling of comfort she felt when she was with him was worth all the words exchanged.

At the end of the corridor, hidden by a large metal pylon, Rose watched without moving. The two rebels separated at last and shared a knowing smile before moving away from each other. The technician swallowed painfully before turning around to go to the shed.

OooooO

"Rose, I think you didn't connect the power cable to the input plug," Jenx pointed out, showing her the red wire protruding from the case.

The brunette sighed. This morning had definitely been very long.

"Sorry," she apologized before fixing her mistake. "I'm a little distracted today."

Jenx gave her a worried look.

"Are you okay? Maybe you should go back to the infirmary to rest."

"No it's good. I'm fine," she retorted a little sharply before immediately regretting it. "Don't worry, I ... I'm just concerned about accumulators. If we don't hurry up and find something to fix them, they won't last long and the base will be vulnerable."

She blamed herself for lying so shamelessly to Jenx. The fate of the accumulators was only a sorry excuse. She knew she should not falter now. But the miners' arrival, five days earlier, had been both a relief and a heartbreaker. She had hoped to find familiar faces. Shiro, Merin, Aluki ... Her companions in suffering when she and her sister Paige had worked deep in the tunnels on Hays Minor. But all the newly arrived survivors belonged to the Western sector, which meant that the others must have been killed by the First Order. She had hoped to see Dykar again. The old man had taken in the two sisters when their parents had died, and he'd taught them everything he knew. He had been an engineer in the service of the New Republic before the annexation of Hays Major by the First Order and his condemnation to end his days in the mines. He had organized their escape and saved their lives.

Early this morning, after spending some time looking after the survivors, she had to rush out of the big room in which they had all been gathered. She was close to tears and she could not in good conscience cry in the midst of all these people. She did not have the right — not after what they had just suffered. She had taken refuge in her room, her heart heavy, trying to regain a minimum of composure. She was missing her parents, Paige, Dykar... even if she knew she was not alone. The Resistance was her new family now. Leia, Poe, Kaydel and Finn ...

_Finn._

Why did she want to smile every time she thought of him? She had only known him for a few weeks and yet ...

She then decided to join him to ask him to accompany her to check the communications relay, but she had caught him hugging Rey in the middle of the corridor. The scavenger looked upset and Rose had not wanted to interrupt their moment of intimacy.

_Rey and Finn._

They were very close. Finn had met Rey only a few days before he'd met her, but every time he talked about the scavenger, she could read on his face all the admiration he felt for the young woman.

Admiration, yes ... and something else too.

And she understood perfectly. How not to be fascinated by this girl with extraordinary powers?

She was beautiful, strong, and brave. She was the heiress of the Jedi Order. How could Rose ever hope to compete with the apprentice of the great Luke Skywalker? Yet, immediately, Rose blamed herself for feeling such things. Rey had spared them all a certain death on Crait, and Finn was visibly more than friends with her. As for her, Rose Tico, little invisible technician of the Resistance, had finally to face facts. She could no longer deny the feelings she harbored for Finn. That's why for an hour, it was impossible for her to concentrate and get rid of this oppressive sensation in the hollow of her chest.

STOP. She had to focus on her work. The rebellion needed her and it was out of the question that she continue to let her state of mind impact her this way. She took a deep breath and tried to send away all these parasitic thoughts.

OooooO

Finn was worried. He could not drive out of his mind everything Rey had just told him. He understood her so much. What would he not do to find his family, to know what his father and mother looked like?

Were they still alive? If they were, did they still think of him? Did they have any other children?

Until a few weeks ago, the First Order had been his one and only universe. There had been no free time and no place in his daily life for this kind of futile speculation. All he knew was the formation of stormtroopers: rough, ruthless, cold and military. Indoctrination. Trainings. Punishments. Feelings were banished. Friendship too.

He still wondered how he'd managed to keep his humanity after all that. Why had he finally found the courage to revolt, but others had not? Why hadn't all the horrors that these soldiers were forced to perpetrate shaken them as much as they had shaken him? He had not gone on more than two ground missions, unable to obey the order to kill those villagers. He simply could not shoot innocent people. Did he inherit from his parents his empathy, his ability to attach himself so? What part did genetics play in all of this?

Rey had just told him about Tark and Iona, about their tragic destiny and the Naboo jewel, symbol of the Royal Council. He was afraid of what the scavenger might find out if, as he suspected, she was rushing into the gap now open to the search for her origins. But on the other hand, he was jealous. He would give anything to have information about his parents too. He had sworn to tell no one about it, but he already felt the weight of that promise on his conscience. And he was not only worried about Rey.

In the morning he had made a detour to the neighborhoods where the refugees from Hays Minor had been settled. Rose was there and did her best to help. He dared not imagine what she must feel. As usual, she had displayed a kind and reassuring face in front of all those poor people. She had gone to see them one by one, brought them food, clothes. But the ex-stormtrooper could not help noticing a hint of sadness in her eyes, like when she had told him about the sacrifice of her sister, Paige, on the Raddus. Rose must have been so disappointed that the surviving miners were not more numerous, that she could not find people she knew, friends ...

He felt the need to see her, to comfort her, as he had done with Rey.

He went to the shed where he knew she worked. He could not explain it yet, but for a few days, he had been thinking about her more and more often. He wondered what she was doing, where she was. The various chores within the base had left them no respite since their arrival, so moments of relaxation were rare. But he still had two solid hours now before having to return to the command room, so he went to the hangar. On the way, he made a stop in the cafeteria and came out with a roll of dried fruit that Rose would surely appreciate. As soon as he found himself in the midst of the A-wings lined up on both sides of the take-off area, he began to scrutinize each control console to find the little brunette with the two curled locks. He saw her crouching beside one of his fellow technicians.

"Hey, guys!" he said happily as he approached them. "Everything is fine?"

Jenx and Rose turned in concert and Finn twitched a little when he saw that the young woman, whose face usually bore such a bright smile, was looking sullen and unhappy here.

"Yeah uh ... we're almost done," Jenx answered after a few seconds as Rose remained silent and ducked her head under the console.

"OK," Finn retorted, a little taken aback by the attitude of his friend.

Suddenly Rose rose abruptly and put the block back on. The buttons flashed and she sighed with relief.

"It's done, Jenx. I'll go check the outside antenna now. Can you handle the next console by yourself?"

The gray-haired man nodded and left the two young people face to face.

"I brought you this." Finn handed the still-hot roll to Rose.

The brunette took it and whispered a quick "thank you" before moving in front of him to head for the exit.

Finn tried to analyze what had happened, wondering if he had done or said something wrong. He rushed behind her and caught her.

"So, you are going to check the communications antenna?"

"Yes."

Rose stared straight ahead, munching on her pastry.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

The technician continued to walk. They passed in front of the entrance to the command hall, where they could see Rey in heated discussion with Kaydel. The scavenger gave them a small wave of the hand to which Rose nodded briefly before continuing on her way to her quarters, Finn still on her heels.

"No it's OK, I'm going with Korch," she said.

Rose blamed herself for having to lie again in a matter of minutes. Korch was on the other side of the base and had no intention of accompanying her. She just did not want Finn to follow her right now.

"Besides, you probably have a lot of things to do with Rey," she added.

_Dumb. Stupid and petty. Why did she just say that?_

Finn was now looking at her cautiously. He had to be wondering what fly had stung him, and he was right. What an idiot she was! What was happening to her? She had never been jealous before. Why should she have been? Her sister Paige and she had never owned anything and she had never met anyone like Finn before. Someone her age, who looked at her with big, tender, and compassionate eyes. Someone who made her feel that she was important. Someone she could fall for ...

"Excuse me, I have to hurry," she said before turning sharply into the adjacent corridor, leaving Finn perplexed and his mouth half-open in the middle of the hall.

OooooO

_The emissary of Naboo ... What was his name ? Oh yes, Leman Drill. Maybe he could give her answers?_

The meeting on Endor was scheduled the next day. She absolutely had to go. Maybe she could show him the pin and ask him some questions about it.

Rey was standing near the north shed door when she saw Poe chatting with Cova Nell. As the two pilots headed in her direction, Rey stepped out into the path directly in front of them.

"Poe, can I talk to you for a moment ?" she asked.

Cova left them after greeting Rey and Dameron proposed that they go talk in the small break room not far from there. He had spent the whole of the early afternoon inspecting weapons with his colleague, and he really needed a strong cup of caff.

The pilot went up to the counter and grabbed the mug handed to him by Ennis, the canteen woman. Poe thanked her with a wink, and Rey, noticing that the plump little woman had become as scarlet as her apron, could not repress an amused smile. Poe went to sit at one of the unoccupied tables and Rey settled in front of him.

"I must come with you to Naboo to meet the emissary," she decreed then, without preamble.

Poe gave her a surprised look.

"And why do you want to come with BB-8 and me?"

Rey hesitated; telling him the whole truth was not a good idea. She knew him to be trustworthy with everything that concerned the Resistance, but she had only known the pilot for two weeks. He was very nice, certainly, but she did not feel ready to reveal what she had discovered about her past to someone other than Finn. Besides, she had more questions than answers for now. She decided to stay rather evasive and especially not to talk about the pin.

"On Jakku, I had access to some information about my past. Some of this information is related to Naboo. Maybe this emissary, Leman Drill, could enlighten me a little bit."

Poe stared at her with mischief and the young woman suddenly felt uncomfortable.

_Did she lie so badly?_

"OK…"

"So, do you agree?"

Poe focused on sipping his coffee with a bored look.

"Rey, I think you should talk to General Organa. She's the one who runs this base."

"But you, do you agree?"

Poe left with a small laugh.

"Agree with having a Jedi watching my back? Are you kidding me? Of course I agree! I confess that this meeting makes me rather nervous. Leia seems to trust this guy but I still have reservations."

"Perfect, then I will …"

Rey did not have time to finish her sentence.

The shrill sound of a siren sounded in the break room. All the occupants of the room froze and suddenly, bursts of voices invaded the corridor.

"What is that?" Rey asked.

Poe dropped his mug on the table and stood up abruptly to head for the exit. The other rebels did the same. Rey got up to follow him when he began to run, heading for the command room.

"It's the intruder alert!" he shouted over his shoulder to be heard over the din that was now raging throughout the base.

OooooO

Finn was running between the trees. The ground was soft and wet, making progress difficult. Not to mention the thick vegetation and moss-covered stumps on which he had almost tripped several times. His lungs were on fire and he was squeezing his blaster in his hand trying to pick up the pace. He had stormed out of the control room before Leia, Poe or Rey could react.

Shuttles of the First Order had just landed all over the planet. Thousands of lookout droids had come out and were soon to crisscross all the potentially inhabited territories. These humanoid robots were designed to search every last part of the worlds visited in order to flush out the rebels.

Finn was very familiar with these machines and had made a complete report on them to Leia, shortly after their installation on Arbra. Their scanners were infallible and could detect the smallest form of life hundreds of miles away. They would spend several hours inspecting the various islands on the planet. The rebel base had been built in the heart of a mountain, but Finn knew very well that their energy signature could still be detected. These droids, heavily armed and programmed to capture or kill, relayed the recorded information to a light cruiser orbiting the inspected planet. That's why Leia had to trigger the camouflage protocol: it involved closing the exits immediately and redirecting all available energy to the shield, which was the only thing able to fool the scanners and make them invisible.

But Rose was two kilometers away, working on the relay antenna.

At the announcement of the closing of the doors, the former stormtrooper had immediately thought of her. He had warned Leia that she was outside with Korch, but when he saw that the man was busy on one of the computer stations in the room, he understood that Rose had lied to him and that she was alone outside.

He had left without thinking, ignoring his friends' frantic warnings. Leia had shouted that it was too risky and that he was going to get them all killed.

But it was all wasted effort on their part. He had managed to sneak outside and was now heading north.

He could hear the humming of the transports in the distance, carrying the droids to the heart of the jungle, disturbing the usual calm of small animals and sending birds flying away, squealing over the trees.

He prayed that he'd arrive in time.

But once there, what would happen? What would he do with only a blaster in front of two or three lookout droids with laser guns? If they were detected, the First Order would be informed that humanoid life forms were on this planet supposedly inhabited only by Hoojibs and endemic fauna. The search would intensify and the troops would eventually discover the base that everyone now called "Haven."

The beating of his heart echoed in his temples and he was out of breath when he finally reached the foot of the antenna. The sound of the speeders was getting closer and, even worse, he was now hearing them behind him, which meant that droids cut off any possibility of retreating to the base.

"Rose!" he called, trying not to scream too loudly. "Rose! It's me, Finn!"

Suddenly, a small brown head appeared behind a huge tree trunk lying on the ground, a few meters from him.

"I'm here!" she replied, waving him over to join her.

Finn stepped over the trunk and crouched down beside her and her toolbox.

"What's happening?" she asked, panicked.

"Lookouts droids. They inspect all the islands."

"But why are they here? Did they spot the base?"

Rose's voice was starting to get loud and Finn had to put his hand on her mouth to silence her.

"The base went into camouflage mode," he whispered. "We're stuck outside. If these droids discover us, it's over. There are crystal caves two hundred meters from here. Maybe we can get there and hide inside. With luck, the energy signature of the stones will be able to disrupt their scanners."

Finn, who had already got up and took Rose by the hand, froze suddenly. The technician girl seemed determined not to move.

"Hurry up, Rose ! What are you waiting for?" he exclaimed, pulling her arm.

"You came to get me," she whispered, staring at him now with round eyes.

Her fingers squeezed the rebel's hand harder and she stared at him silently. Finn knew that look: on Crait, after saving his life, she had fixed him with her intense gaze and given him a kiss.

"Why didn't you stay in the base? You're crazy, Finn."

The young man swallowed hard. It was really not the time to think of the sweetness of her lips. The droids were not very far away.

"Come with me," he ordered.

"Wait! What about my toolbox?"

Finn let out a grunt before spotting a thicket of bushes nearby. He stuck the blaster in his belt, grabbed the case and slid it under the dense foliage. Then he grabbed Rose's hand again and they both rushed into the trees.

OooooO

"Leia! I have to go help them!" Rey exclaimed, ready to follow her friend who had just left the command room.

Rose was outside. Finn had left to join her. If the droids found them, they were dead and the whole base was compromised. Poe was trying to hold her back the best he could.

"It's too late, Rey!"

"Rey, the batteries won't last long." Leia's grave tone paralyzed her instantly, along with all the rebels gathered at this moment in the command post. The base was closed now. And Poe was right. She could not do anything for Finn and Rose, but maybe she could do something for the accumulators.

"Ok, come with me," she said to the pilot.

OooooO

Rose and Finn finally arrived at the entrance of the little cave partially covered by vegetation. A whole stretch of wall on the left was covered with crystals.

They snuck inside and immediately realized that hiding here was not going to be any fun at all. The place was dark and stank. Finn was holding his breath, and Rose was already covering her nose with her hand to try to minimize the overwhelming stench that was already making her nauseous.

"Damn it! What is that smell?" Finn exclaimed.

The darkness was almost total and the two rebels quickly realized that, alas, they were not alone. Something squeaked a few feet away from them. In fact, they heard small grunts and, as their eyes became accustomed to the dim light, several pairs of shining irises appeared in the darkness.

"I think that there's already something here." Rose was now completely motionless and Finn could feel her body press gently against his.

As they were about to turn around, a frightening growling echoed behind them from the entrance of the cave. Finn and Rose pivoted slowly. The backlight dazzled them, but they could discern the massive silhouette of a huge cat slowly advancing towards them.

"Oh no ..." Rose whispered, looking down at an adorable little ball of fur rubbing against her leg.

The animal began to nibble the bottom of her pants and was quickly joined by two of his siblings.

"Finn …" Rose stammered, still frozen.

The former stormtrooper was breathing hard, staring at the very adult and obviously very angry specimen in front of them.

"I think we just bothered mommy."

OooooO

"The circuits are about to burn!" Rey's hands were plunged into the intertwining of multicolored electric wires in the heart of the accumulator.

Near the control table, Poe and Jenx were trying to keep the flow of energy as stable as possible.

"The shield will lose power in two minutes!" the technician exclaimed.

Leia burst into the room, followed by Kaydel. Rey gave her a panicked look. She had to find a solution. The cave's crystals were no longer going to provide them with energy. They would not be invisible anymore. The droids were going to find them.

Kaydel looked at the tablet she was holding in her hands.

"They are less than a kilometer from here. The range of their scanners is eight hundred meters."

Rey's brain was working at full speed. She needed an idea, quickly. Yet she could not help but think of Finn and Rose, alone in the jungle at the mercy of the robots of the First Order. Maybe they were already in their hands. She swore inside before clenching her fists with exasperation. She had to calm down. She had to think. A dead silence was now reigning in the engine room, only broken by the fateful beep of the accumulators on the verge of failing them.

Suddenly, Rey went to stand in front of the shield console.

"If I can move objects, maybe I can do the same with the flow of energy, using the Force."

Poe stared at her with his mouth open, running out of words. Korch and Kaydel exchanged an aghast look.

"Rey …" The general was struggling to hide her concern. "You will not be able to convert the elemental energy of the crystals into electrical energy and at the same time transport it to the shields. And even if you did, it would be too dangerous for you."

"I know. But this is our only hope. I have to try," the young woman sighed, laying her hands flat on the console.

As she finished her sentence, a dozen scarlet lights from the control panel flashed. The accumulators had just crashed.

OooooO

The humming of the airspeeders, hovering over the cave, was deafening. When they finally landed, the creature's attention instantly shifted to them.

Two droids got out of the vehicles and pointed their blasters and a scanner towards the cave.

"Unit 23 to Command Post - life forms spotted in Sector 15," announced one of the robots with a synthetic voice.

In front of his monitor, aboard the destroyer _Subjugator_ orbiting Arbra, Sergeant Filek began strumming on his keyboard.

"Copy that, DXD45, data analysis is in progress."

On his screen, the image of the entrance to the cave appeared.

"Hostile endemic animal blocking access. Species: naztak. Category: carnivore. Application for authorization to eliminate the threat to proceed with the complete inspection of the site," the droid replied.

The beast did not seem to appreciate the intrusion anymore because, without warning and with a terrifying roar, it jumped on the first humanoid robot and snatched its arm with a paw. On impact, the droid was thrown several meters back while the metal limb landed at the foot of its companion. Then with awesome agility for a creature of her size, the big cat spun, ready to attack the second robot.

Filek was caught off guard by the sudden reaction of the naztak.

"Damn it! Fire at will!"

The droid just had time to shoot before the female reached him. Mowed down in full swing, the animal collapsed a few inches from it on the dusty ground. The gunfire had hit the cat's chest, yet she still had the strength to turn her head slightly to take a last look at the entrance to the cave, where the desperate squeak of one of her babies was now echoing her groans of pain. The little ball of red fur remained frozen, trembling, staring at the bloody, lifeless body of her mother on the ground at the machine's feet.

"Unit 23 to Command Post - target eliminated - DXD44 taken out - Should I proceed to exterminate the rest of the creatures? Six energy signatures detected at the bottom of the cave."

Sergeant Filek let out a swear between his teeth. His colleague Sergeant Monty was giggling stupidly beside him.

"Bad luck, Filek! Your squad hadn't been on Arbra for five minutes before you'd already lost a droid, torn apart by a pissed off big cat. It's so stupid ... You'll go to the bottom of the rankings, my poor friend. You're going to dethrone Bings as the loser of the week!"

"Shut up, Monty!" Sergeant Filek spat before taking a deep breath to defuse his sudden urge to hit his colleague with his keyboard.

But Monty continued heckling him.

"Come on, Filek! Finish the job! I'm sure General Hux will be pleased to hear that you've taken care of a whole family of naztaks!"

The soldier felt a taste of bile back up his throat. He hated that moron next to him. He hated what he was doing right now. He hated sitting behind the screen and ordering these stupid robots. With a furious gesture, he started the communication.

"Negative DXD45 - Disengage. Collect the remains of DXD44 and go to sector 16."

OoooO

Inside the cave, Finn could feel Rose's body shaking with irrepressible sobs. He had pressed his hand to her mouth to try to suppress her cries of rage. The tears running down the technician's cheeks were wetting his fingers while the four naztak babies were huddled on their knees.

Rose grabbed one of the creatures and squeezed it against her heart. The animal did not flinch, and seemed even grateful for this surge of affection. After a few minutes, the airspeeders took off and the silence reigned once again.

Finn gently removed his hand.

The droids were gone.

OooooO

Poe watched the scene, captivated by what was happening right in front of him.

Rey was standing near the console, both hands flat on the control panel. The air vibrated with indescribable energy all around her. All the rebels felt it and held their breath. The young woman was in a trance. The lights had stopped flashing, and the alarms were silent. The pilot could not believe his eyes, nor could anyone else around them. Seeing her use the Force again was really something extraordinary.

She was redirecting the energy flow of the crystals to the shield, bypassing the accumulators. It was incredible. Yet this time, the face of the young woman was tense and she clenched her teeth. The effort seemed titanic and Rey was already showing signs of distress. She'd already been at it for a good fifteen minutes, and Poe cast a desperate look at his comrades. Leia, meanwhile, had her eyes fixed on the young woman.

"It's too hard for her," the general worried. "Kaydel, where are the droids?"

The young rebel typed feverishly on her pad and stammered: "Some squads are still in the perimeter of the base covered by the shields. They are moving away from the area but …"

Suddenly, Rey slumped and kneeled down, her eyes still closed and her features distorted by the extreme effort she was putting outd.

"Oh no, Rey …" Leia murmured, close to tears.

"She will not succeed," Jenx said.

"What can we do to help her?" Poe shouted.

He had his answer when he looked one by one at the helpless faces of the people gathered around him. A groan escaped the lips of the young woman whose face was now covered with sweat. She put a second knee down, her hands still pressed against the console. Her breathing was jerky. A couple of lights had started flashing again.

"They are less than one kilometer from the perimeter exit," Kaydel said, clenching her hands as if to press the droids away faster.

Rey's face had become scarlet. Her whole body was shaking.

"The effort is going to kill her," Poe whispered, still powerless.

Suddenly, he felt Leia pass by him and head for the console.

"General ..." he said, trying to grab her arm, but Luke's sister pulled away before squatting beside Rey.

"Only I can help her." Leia then put both hands on Rey's shoulders and closed her eyes.

OoooooO

**On board the **_**Finalizer**_

The glass he held in his hand fell and broke into pieces on the floor. A flash of pain ran through his chest and compressed each of his muscles, freezing them on the spot. He could not breathe. Suddenly, his brain seemed ready to explode. He was barely able to catch himself on a nearby shelf when he felt his legs give way underneath him.

_What was happening to him?_

He began to sweat profusely and his vision was dim. He could not help but close his eyes.

_The Force._

A kaleidoscope of blurred images appeared before his closed eyelids. Lights. Red, yellow, green. A stream of electricity ran through his hands and the pain made him clench his fists. Voices with incomprehensible words reached his buzzing ears. He was going to collapse, so he sat on the floor and took a deep breath, but he felt as if there was no more oxygen left in the room. Suddenly, a dull and familiar sound invaded his auditory field. The sound he had heard before each connection between him and Rey.

He forced himself to open his eyes and looked all around him. Luckily, he was alone in his training room. Yet he did not see anyone.

"Rey …" he called out.

No answer.

But he heard the sound of heavy breathing. Then a second time. He was no longer alone. A few meters from him, the image of a kneeling figure on the ground gradually appeared. A silhouette he would have recognized among a thousand. A woman's body, thin and muscular, wearing a beige tunic and brown trousers.

"Rey," he repeated, still a little incredulous.

_What was happening? Was the connection possible again? _

A hint of excitement was born in the pit of his belly when he saw a second female form appear alongside the young woman. Smaller. Kneeling too. She wore a long gray dress whose color imitated the color of her braided hair, tied in a bun at the back of her neck. The feeling of discomfort grew.

_Leia._

Her arms were hugging Rey's shoulders, and both seemed to be in just as bad shape as he was. Neither of the women had detected his presence. Could they see him? What were they doing? He wanted to call out to them first, but changed his mind. He saw blood running from Rey's nostrils, and saw his mother's features distorted by pain.

_They are both using the Force. _

During the other connections shared with Rey, he could not see what was around her. He could not do so this time either. He could only see them slowly weaken and use the last of their energy trying to do God knows what.

And that affected him too. But why?

Suddenly, the voices came back, and he thought he heard someone screaming to stop. Then he saw Rey and his mother crumple to the ground with all their weight, unconscious and paler than dead bodies. Then the image faded instantly. The suffering also stopped.

"Rey ..." Kylo whispered, kneeling on the floor and staring at the empty space in the middle of the room.

OoooooO


	9. CHAPTER 8

**16 days after the Battle of Crait-New Rebel Base-Planet Arbra:**

Finn was sitting on a chair near Rey's bed while Mirzin was taking her pulse. The nurse then went to check Leia.

"Her vital signs are good," she announced.

The young man nodded and Mirzin gave him a reassuring smile before leaving the room.

There was nothing to do except wait. Their stock of bacta was nonexistent and they did not have a pod like the one in which he had been treated on D'Qar.

It had been twenty-four hours since the two women had lost consciousness and Finn was trying to hide his anxiety as best he could.

Rose and he had managed to get back to the base safely after the departure of the droids. Poe had given them both a sermon they would not soon forget.

Now decisions had to be made quickly. The meeting with the Naboo ambassador could not be postponed. Luckily, Leia had the foresight to leave specific instructions : if anything were to happen to her, Poe would take command of the base. He was respected by all, and no one, including the older rebels, had contested the general's choice.

Dameron had therefore appointed Commander Larma d'Acy as leader during his absence, because he planned to go to Endor. Rose had volunteered to accompany him and the pilot, initially reluctant, had admitted that an extra pair of hands to handle communications would be more than useful.

Finn was already worried about health of Rey and Leia, and now he felt anxious for Rose and Poe. He let out a sigh of weariness before returning his attention to the scavenger's sleeping silhouette.

"Hey, Rey, can you hear me?" he asked softly for the hundredth time, sliding his hand into hers. The young woman was breathing slowly. His features were relaxed but her face was still very pale.

This time, he felt Rey's fingers move. Her eyelids quivered before fluttering and opening for good, her big round eyes staring at Finn's face leaning over her.

"Finn ... you ... you're here …" she stammered, trying to get up.

"Easy, Rey. You're in the infirmary, you need to rest."

"Where is Leia?"

Her head was spinning. Her vision was still struggling to adjust and she felt like if a _TB-TT_ had just trampled on her. But it seemed like the Force was with them because, in the next bed, Leia opened her eyes in turn.

Mirzin, who was just coming back carrying bandages, hurried to check on the princess.

"It's OK, General. You are safe here."

"Is everyone okay?"

"Yes, the droids have left the planet. Thanks to you, the shield held. But you and Rey have been unconscious for a long time. We were so worried about the two of you."

"Rey! Where is she?" Leia panicked.

"I'm here." The scavenger managed to get up to reach the older woman's bed and sit down beside her.

Leia took Rey's hands in hers.

" You did it," she whispered, on the verge of tears.

Rey nodded.

"No Leia, WE did it."

They stared at each other for several seconds before the rebel leader added in a broken voice, "I felt him, Rey. As soon as I put my hands on you, I felt his presence. He was there with us."

Finn and Mirzin exchanged a wary look. Who were they talking about?

Rey's heart started to beat wildly and her throat clenched. She nibbled her lower lip before answering.

"I felt him too, Leia."

OooooO

**On board the **_**Finalizer**_**:**

What if he tried to meditate? It had been an eternity since he had abandoned this practice. He now thought it was a waste of time. When he was still Luke's padawan, he was forced to close his eyes, sit cross-legged and concentrate on the Force at least twice a day, morning and evening. Most often, his uncle meditated by his side and told him endlessly to keep quiet and to focus his whole being on the Light.

At first, whenever he had tried to do it, he felt a sense of serenity from voluntarily communing with the Force. His anxieties dwindled — his feelings of abandonment, too. He experienced something bigger than himself, bigger than everything, that sublimated his self and elevated him into spheres he never thought he could reach. The more he practiced, the more he sharpened his consciousness, connected with the entire Universe, and the Force showed him that he was not alone, that he was well and truly part of it all. And then, insidiously, the sessions were polluted, too, by the voice of Snoke.

_Damn it…_

It was impossible for him to concentrate right now. He was going in and out of his room, his forehead wrinkled and his stomach knotted. He could not get the scene out of his mind: Rey and his mother collapsing together on the floor and lying there, unmoving.

_They were not dead. He would have felt it._

But not knowing what had happened was gnawing at him. Yet he should have been satisfied. Wasn't it was what he wanted? To eradicate the Resistance once and for all? He heard himself again clearly telling Luke on Crait that he would destroy them all, that he would destroy Rey ...

He stopped in the middle of the room and clenched his fists, closing his eyes. Who did he think he was fooling?

He felt rage rising inside of him.

_Let the past die... Let the past die ..._

He rehashed his mantra again and again and tried to focus on the briefing he'd had with his subordinates, two hours ago.

In the meeting room, Hux had been sitting right in front of him. His knights had all been present too and had listened to the military declare that the hyperspace tracker was not yet operational. Putting the technology used on the _Supremacy_ into service and adapting it to the _Finalizer_ would take longer than expected. One or two days at most. Sylla had made her report too: the interview with the directors of the various banks of Coruscant had been a success. All credits had been released and construction work on new weapons could begin.

While she was talking, Kylo had not deigned to give her the slightest look. So he had not noticed the coldness of her features when she had announced the good news. The amazon's face, usually adorned with a charming little smile each time she spoke to him, had appeared closed and tense. Viri and Yehnu had also been rather quiet.

Hux had spoken again and announced that the surveillance of Naboo was continuing. Their main communications networks had been tapped and if the inhabitants tried anything to help the Resistance again, the First Order would be immediately informed. A spy had also been introduced into the palace.

Kylo had signified his approval with a simple nod.

Then Elias had proposed new locations for the establishment of a permanent headquarters: Malachor, Dromund Kaas ...

"Outer Rim planets with Sith temples," Ren sighed.

"These are the safest places, firmly under the thumb of the First Order," Elias said calmly.

Kylo had not flinched, trying to hide his annoyance, but had declared in a dry tone, "We would be too far from the main star systems. We must establish ourselves more in the Core, at worst in the Middle Rim. We do not have to hide anymore now. We will reign from the center of the galaxy."

Nobody had found fault with that. Everyone had been cooperative today, their faces lowered and strangely devoid of expression. Only Bram had shown a little enthusiasm. But Kylo hadn't been in the mood to analyze everyone's reactions.

"Hux, I want a full report on Cal-Seti and Corulag. They seem to me more appropriate planets. Elias and Yéhnu, you will deal with this project. Sylla, Bram and Viri, contact Nag Ubdur and try to get an agreement for the extraction of zersium. Go there if you have to. We must begin building new Death Stars as soon as possible."

Then he had got up and had left.

Now he was stomping about in front of his panoramic window, unable to find any sort of peace of mind. The vision of Rey and his mother, lying on the floor, imposed itself on him again. He was devoured by curiosity. He had to know what had happened and the only way was to try to establish contact with the scavenger girl once again. He had been shocked to find that the connection he had shared with her had not disappeared despite Snoke's death. He had to put forth a superhuman effort during the meeting to repress his feelings and erect an impassable wall around his mind so that his knights did not feel his disquiet.

Now, his frustration was over. He took a deep breath and finally made his decision. He got rid of his cloak and headed for the training room. The whipping one-handed droid was removed and only the almost imperceptible buzz of the ship's engines echoed through the room. He sat cross-legged on the floor and closed his eyes.

After a few minutes, he managed to calm his breathing and his heartbeat. His gloved hands resting flat on his lap, he threw his mind into the abyss of the Force in search of Rey's light.

OOOOOOOOOOO

**Outer Rim - Moon of Endor:**

BB-8 made several beeps before bursting into the shuttle cockpit.

"I know BB-8, we'll land in a few minutes. The area is clear and we're receiving the signal from the people of Naboo."

Poe switched to manual flying and descended over the woodlands on the Endor moon's northern continent.

"Here." Rose pointed to a small glade in front of them.

The ship landed and the ramp lowered. The little droid rolled down the bridge, immediately followed by the pilot and the young technician. Blaster in hand, they cautiously advanced a few meters in the tall grass, while keeping the edge of the forest in their line of sight. Everything was calm and peaceful, and a gentle sun lit up the surroundings. The singing of birds and the sound of a river flowing nearby reached their ears. Rose and Poe remained silent, marveling at the tranquility of this place. Arbra was a beautiful planet, but a strange serenity emanated from this Endorian country landscape. This little moon had been the site of one of the biggest battles in the galaxy. By destroying the facilities that the Empire had established here, the Resistance, led by Leia Organa, Han Solo, General Ackbar and Luke Skywalker, had caused the destruction of the second Death Star and the end of Sheev Palpatine, aka Darth Sidious.

Poe remembered every bedtime story his mother had told him when he was a child, and in his dreams, he flew alongside Lando Calrissian, fought against the Empire's hunters, and feasted around gigantic campfires with the Ewoks.

And now he was there, on this mythical planet.

Suddenly, the surrounding bushes began to move and small creatures covered with fur and clad in tanned skins burst in front of them, equipped with axes and spears directly pointed at their chests. The trio was quickly surrounded. Rose and Poe raised their hands.

The pilot could not hide his excitement. He was five years old again.

"Ewoks," he said to Rose, much less reassured than him.

"Nice," she replied, not taking her eyes off the menacing little creatures.

One of them approached and stopped in front of BB-8. He tapped the droid's head several times with his spear, growling a few incomprehensible words, which did not really please the robot, who waved his head in displeasure.

"Be quiet BB-8, they won't hurt us."

The droid hissed and blinked again.

"We are part of the Resistance. The Ambassador, Leman Drill, is waiting for us."

The Ewok surveyed him from head to toe, did the same with Rose, and with a wave of the hand, finally invited them to follow him towards the forest.

oooooooo

The old bunker looked strangely similar to the one on Base Haven, though much smaller. In the old unused command post, Leman Drill was sitting on the other side of the large table in the center of the room. Several other unknown faces participated in the meeting.

The Naboo made the introductions.

Menkel Jas was the leader of a group of First Order opponents who had emerged on Coruscant shortly after the destruction of Hosnian Prime. His small organization now consisted of about a hundred partisans.

Girden A'Min belonged to the Calamari people. The death of his very good friend, Admiral Ackbar, touched him deeply. About fifty of his fellows had fled to an isolated planet in the Outer Rim to escape a vigilante droid raid on Mon Calamari a week earlier.

There was also Becar Dugg, a member of the Gungan clan, who came with Leman Drill, as well as emissaries of Bothawui, Ryloth, Corellia, Raydonia and Ord Mantell.

Poe was casting suspicious glances all around him and suddenly, the whispers and confabs ceased when the Naboo dignitary rose to speak.

"All the people in this room have one thing in common. We are ready to fight relentlessly against the First Order. We managed to make contact with each other in order to rebuild a counterforce and to resume the fight against oppression. I speak in the name of Queen Megarana and in the name of my people when I say that we are not going to endure the establishment of a new Empire without doing anything."

Several members of the assembly nodded their heads in assent.

"You know that Kylo Ren took over the reins of the First Order after the death of Snoke. Hux has deployed his troops throughout the galaxy to take control of all the main systems from the Core to the Outer Rim. Now that the New Republic has been destroyed and almost all its senators murdered, they have complete freedom to try to annex our planets and bend us under the yoke of military force. I have no doubt that weapons suppliers and major industrial conglomerates are pleased to provide them with new firepower."

"One of my informants told me that they intended to invade Nag Ubdur," Menkel Jas said.

A confused hubbub arose all over the room, only to calm down again when Leman Drill raised his hand to demand silence.

"Captain Dameron, please," the emissary asked the pilot to speak.

Poe cleared his throat before getting up. He narrated the latest events to the assembly, from the speed chase with the _Supremacy_ until the recent intrusion of the lookout droids around Haven. Of course, he didn't mention the name of their latest refuge. Nobody should know that they were now on Arbra.

"The Jedi Order is not totally extinguished!" Girden A'Min uttered these words with a kind of relief in his voice.

Poe then met Rose's gaze. Leia was right. The mere mention of the sacred Order's name had revived a spark of hope in the eyes of all the occupants of the room. Rey embodied this hope now. She had spent time with the great Luke Skywalker before he left them. She had defeated Kylo Ren. She had participated in the fall of Snoke. She had saved the last survivors on Crait and was now in the Resistance. Then the spark could grow and become a fire that would set valiant hearts ablaze to fight once more for freedom in the galaxy. The memory of past victories returned to everyone's minds. Leia, the rebel princess, was an icon. A new generation of fighters was ready to raise their heads and all they needed to do was organize themselves again.

"We're going to rebuild everything," Poe said, displaying a confident smile. "We must have faith in our cause, and unite."

A brief silence followed his words. Everyone's hearts were vibrant with excitement, and the air of the room had suddenly charged with an almost palpable emotion.

"Long live the Resistance! We will win this time! For democracy! For freedom and peace !" shouted the purple-skinned Twi'lek on Poe's right.

His fist raised above his head, he was immediately copied by all the members of the assembly.

OooooO

**Base Haven-Planet Arbra:**

"General Organa! We are receiving an audio signal with Captain Dameron's transmission code."

Leia, sitting in a large armchair in the back of the command room, struggled to get up to join Kaydel. C-3PO began to gesticulate beside her.

"Be careful, Princess! You are still recovering!"

The chirps of R2-D2 punctuated the protocol droid's recommendations.

Immediately, Chewbacca's powerful arms grabbed and lift her. Like a bridegroom, taking his wife across the threshold of their new home, he carried her to the vacant seat near Connix.

"Chewie! Come on! I can still walk by myself," the general protested as the wookie growled and gently put her down in front of the communication station.

This was the moment chosen by Rey and Finn to burst into the room and rush to the console too.

"Some news from Poe and Rose?" Finn asked with a worried face.

"You came back at the right time! We have a connection with them."

Rey frowned at the sight of the rebel leader's tired face..

"Leia, you shouldn't be here, you should be resting in the infirmary."

"Damn it!" the general retorted, punching the console. "Are all of you ever going to stop mothering me like I'm a little fragile thing? I am not yet incapacitated, much less dying! I'm fine and now I want to know how the Endor interview went! Understood?"

Finn raised his hands as a sign of surrender, R2-D2 beeped in an offended tone, Chewie groaned again, Rey rolled her eyes and everybody shut their mouths. Leia then turned on the transmission control knob.

"Scrap dealer 48 to the base, scrap dealer 48 to the base, do you copy?"

"Yes, scrap dealer 48, foundry 125 here, we are listening. What's the news?" the general asked.

"Thank the Maker, Leia, you're awake!" Poe exclaimed with undisguised joy.

"Force, Dameron! What's the point of using code names if you ruin all our efforts?"

"Don't worry, I contacted you via the encrypted communicator you gave me. Rose checked. We can talk freely."

The pilot reassured them about how the meeting went, and they were finally relieved to know that several groups of rebels still existed in all corners of the galaxy. Their allies were indeed ready to help them. New portable communications systems would be used to coordinate future actions. Naboo's emissary had come to Endor aboard a light cargo ship laden with food and medical supplies. The bunkers also contained weapons, and Leman Drill provided them with enough galactic credits to meet their needs in the months to come. The construction of new cruisers and X-wings had been relaunched in a secret resort belonging to the former Republic on Daa Soocha. Three bases on the Outer Rim planets were going to be commissioned to accommodate the new recruits.

"Did you find something to repair our accumulators?" Leia asked.

"No I didn't," Poe sighed.

"It's already a lot, Dameron. Send my most sincere thanks to all the emissaries on Endor. What are your feelings about the meeting?"

"Rose, BB-8 and I remain vigilant. You never know with the First Order. But I must admit that everyone here has made a good impression on me. We still have a lot to talk about so we won't return to the base with Leman's cargo ship until tomorrow."

"Perfect, Captain."

Finn couldn't wait anymore.

"Hey Poe! It's Finn. Is Rose with you?"

"Hi Finn. Yes, she's next to me."

Rey, Leia and Kaydel exchanged glances and began to smile as the red rose slightly on the cheeks of the former stormtrooper. Finn tried to take a detached tone before continuing.

"Hey Rose, uh…..is everything going well? Poe hasn't harassed you too much during the trip?"

The cheerful little voice of the technician was heard through the intercom.

"I'm fine, Finn. We'll be back soon."

"Be careful on the way back, OK? And make sure that Poe and BB-8 don't do something stupid."

They all heard the protests from the pilot in the background while Rose giggled.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them! Oh, by the way, Finn, I have something to ask you. Can you go and check that the naztak babies are fine, please? Their mother is dead and they are all alone now …"

"Rose," the rebel interrupted her, "I already contacted the Hoojibs. They'll take care of them."

A silence then settled for a few seconds while Finn waited for Rose's reply.

"Thanks… And Finn, I just wanted to tell you …"

The former stormtrooper swallowed hard. His heart was racing in his chest. He would have given anything to be alone with Rose here and now. But alas, a dozen people were standing around them, listening to every word exchanged. He was sure Poe was smirking on the other end of the communication channel at this precise moment. He also felt the weight of the tender gazes of the three women standing behind him, and his face took on an even more scarlet hue. Maybe because he stopped breathing too.

"…May the force be with you. May the Force be with all of you," Rose said with what he imagined a bright smile on her round, pretty face.

He finally inhaled and answered.

"May the Force be with you too."

OoooooO

Poe's message had brought some relief to all the occupants of the base. Leia tapped her fingertips on the big table in the command room, while Rey faced her with her arms crossed and a determined look .

"What are we going to do now, Leia? We must repair the accumulators. The Haysian ore that Maz provided us with is not enough."

"I know," the general sighed. "I have an idea but it could be dangerous."

"Dangerous how?" Finn asked.

The leader of the rebels raised her big black eyes towards them.

"We might be able to find everything we need for these repairs in an old Resistance base, abandoned for several decades now. But if the Empire's troops did not ransack it, we could still find material. The base had a secret annex not far from the main complex."

"An old base?" The scavenger was intrigued now. The Resistance still seemed to have unexpected resources.

"You were right, it's risky," Finn sighed.

"We must go!" Rey exclaimed with conviction.

The young man pursed his lips. He was sure that his friend would like to jump in with both feet.

"With all due respect, General, I'm not sure it's a good idea. As you say, if this base was discovered in the time of the Empire, there must be nothing left inside. At worst, the First Order has installed troops there. In addition, our fuel reserves are at their lowest. Not to mention that it would be foolish to take out the Millennium Falcon."

"This base is not far away from here," Leia retorted.

"Finn, we can travel at sub-light speed. No need to use the hyperdrive. It will take a little more time but anyway, we can stop on Cygna to refuel. Maz said one of her men was in charge of the station. And the Falcon is the only fast and well-armed ship that we currently have to make the journey."

"Rey …"

"Finn, we have no choice."

Finn met the compassionate gaze of Luke's sister and capitulated.

"Where is this base?" he finally asked.

"On the planet Hoth," Leia answered.

"I'm going to tell Chewbacca. The ship should be ready to take off in two hours," Rey announced before turning to leave the command room in the direction of the hangar.

OoooooO


	10. CHAPTER 9

**CHAPTER 9**

**16 days after the Battle of Crait-On board the **_**Finalizer**_**:**

He'd been trying for an hour now to feel the slightest vibration, the slightest fluctuation in the Force that would have allowed him to reopen the connection with Rey.

But it wasn't working.

So he got up and began to pace the room back and forth, unable to repress his frustration. Suddenly, a couple of armchairs flew into the air to crash against the opposite wall, followed by a cabinet and the chest in which the floor mats were stored. Quickly, he found himself running out of furniture to destroy. Out of breath, he was about to punch the bulkhead with all his strength, but he held his gesture at the last moment and his explosion of anger ended with his forehead pressed against the cold surface. The beating of his heart echoed in his ears and covered every other sound emanating from the ship. Pure rage and disappointment cascaded through his veins. Finally, he closed his eyes, turned to lean against the wall and slid to the ground in a seated position.

_Why couldn't he find her? Was Rey deliberately blocking his attempts?_

If that was the case, it meant she was fine. They had never yet been able to control their connection. But he had hoped that with enough concentration and will, he could have reached the young woman, perhaps even appear to her just as Luke had done with him on Crait. If his uncle had succeeded, why not him?

"You are not yet powerful enough for that."

He opened his eyelids, sharply.

_It was impossible. A bad joke._

A few meters away, his uncle's ghost, bathed in a soft blue light, was standing there, hands clasped and face serious.

"You look surprised, kid ... I told you that we would see each other again."

Kylo Ren's body remained perfectly motionless except for his trembling lips. Everything was jostling in his mind: disbelief, suspicion and incomprehension.

What an irony ... All his life, his greatest wish was to be able to speak with his grandfather Anakin, even if only for a few seconds. He had been terribly disappointed each time when his pleas had remained unanswered, and at the same time so frightened at the thought of what his grandfather would have told him if he had answered.

When he was a padawan, Luke had told him that some Force-sensitive beings could return to communicate with the living after death. And so Ben had placed all his hopes in this possibility of dialogue with the most powerful Lord of the Dark Side. They shared the same blood after all, right? And he had so many questions ... Did Anakin doubt, too, at first? How did he manage to gain so much power? How did he manage to eradicate the Light within him?

Formerly, Ben had tried to find out more about him and did not hesitate to question his family members. But Leia's throat clearing, Han's precipitous departures and Luke's sad looks and silence had cut short each conversation he'd tried to have with them about his infamous grandfather.

Darth Vader had been a taboo subject throughout his childhood and this had, paradoxically, helped to maintain his fascination and thirst to learn more about him. So, after leaving Luke and joining Snoke, he had hoped that Anakin would finally appear to him and advise him as Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi had done with his uncle.

"I presume I'm not the one you'd like to see, am I?"

Luke Skywalker's silhouette was standing where he had been meditating moments before. Failing to answer, Kylo shot him a murderous look. Then he opened his hand and his lightsaber ran the distance of the living room table into his palm.

Luke smiled sadly.

"It will not help you, Ben."

"Don't call me that," Kylo spat, knowing his uncle was right.

Force ghosts were immaterial and could come and go as they pleased. Ren was not even sure he could make his uncle disappear if he wanted to, and yet, right now, he would have given anything for Luke's ghost to return to where he came from.

"You really have nothing else to do?" Kylo added in the most flippant tone he could take. "Like give your precious advice to the scavenger?"

"Rey doesn't need me."

"So why are you here?"

Luke looked into his nephew's dark irises and didn't answer.

"Why!" Kylo repeated clenching his fingers on the handle of his weapon.

The Jedi sighed.

"Rey was right. I let myself be blinded by my fears, my own anxieties and I didn't see then what should have prevented me from acting just like I did."

Kylo swallowed, a little taken aback by these enigmatic words, but continued to display his contempt and hostility.

"Your little trick on Crait, was finely played, I admit. But look where this led you, you fool! You sacrificed yourself for nothing! You are no more than a mirage and I am the new Supreme Leader of the First Order! The Resistance will soon be reduced to ashes. Do you think that the scavenger alone can revive the Jedi Order? Or that I will allow this? She thought she could change who I am. She was wrong and so were you."

While Kylo delivered his tirade, Luke slowly shook his head in protest.

"No Ben, I'm not talking about what happened on Crait. I'm talking about the fact that Rey was right to believe that there was still Light in your heart. I should have seen it before letting myself be overwhelmed by doubt and trying to stop you that night, ten years ago."

Once again Kylo froze. The last words of his uncle only increased his fury.

"Trying to stop me?" he chuckled nervously. "You did not try to _stop me_, you tried to kill me! Me! Your own nephew!"

"Snoke had already invaded your heart. I was desperate and unfortunately I made the biggest mistake of my life. I lost my mind for a split second and you can not imagine how much I regret it. I'd give anything to go back. I raised my saber above you, it's true, but I would never have …"

"Liar ..." Ren snorted, displaying a smirk of contempt.

"No, listen to me, I…"

"As far back as I can remember, I always did everything you wanted from me."

"I know."

It was time to settle their accounts. Kylo knew it, and Luke knew it, too.

"Leia, Han and you ... You always thought I'd end up like Anakin! What did you imagine? That I wasn't aware of it? That I didn't hear you, or see your guilty faces when you were talking about me? That I didn't see your worried looks, your looks of pity? As soon as I was old enough to understand, I felt the weight of your fear on my shoulders."

Luke lowered his head this time.

"This pain that tore me apart, this struggle between Darkness and Light… You let it ravage me from the inside. I was just a child. I didn't understand anything. All I wanted was to be the perfect little boy that you all wanted. I tried with all my strength, alone. And in the end, you abandoned me!"

"You are right but …"

"So I smothered the Light and embraced the Darkness. I made it my greatest strength, my shell, my armor. It's you who determined my destiny. Ironically, I should thank you instead of trying to erase you from my life."

"Snoke took advantage of you and your anger."

"Snoke revealed to me all the power of the Dark Side and what my true potential was. And I killed him to complete my apprenticeship. Darkness is an integral part of me now. And you coming here won't change anything."

Skywalker jerked his head up and stared at him.

"The conflict inside you is not over."

"It is."

"No, you're wrong."

"I killed your padawans, I ordered the killing of innocents by the hundreds, and I killed Snoke."

"I also helped kill a lot of people when we destroyed the Death Star."

Kylo's jaw tightened.

"I murdered my own father!"

"You did it, thinking it was the only way to complete your turn to the Dark Side. But despite what you claim, you failed. Your doubts have only grown and you're now gnawed by remorse…"

Kylo swiveled sharply back to his room. But he stopped when he saw that Luke was now standing in front of his bed, continuing his diatribe.

"... Han's death shook everything you'd believed in until then. Your father may not have the ability to appear to you through the Force like I do, but he is there, in your flesh, in your thoughts, every day, every minute …"

"Shut up!" Kylo screamed, shaking his head, unable to hold his uncle's piercing gaze any longer.

" ... constantly reminding you that you were only Snoke's puppet. We certainly helped — Snoke, your parents and me — to make you what you are now, but you lie to yourself when you say that you've smothered the Light within you. A glow persists, like the one that was in your grandfather's heart …"

"I said shut up!"

Kylo activated his sword and struck the figure in front of him in a desperate and totally useless gesture. The scarlet blade split only air. He was staggering now and let out an animal grunt. Without taking his eyes off him, Luke kept talking.

"You admire Vader so much, but you don't know anything. Yes, all those years, at the service of the Empire, he committed the worst atrocities — but in the end he turned away from the Dark Side."

"I don't believe you."

Ren's lungs were on fire. He had to silence Luke. He had to make him leave at all costs.

His uncle took a step towards him. Kylo's saber was ineffective. He raised his free hand to the luminescent apparition and closed his eyes. He had to try to chase him away, he had to concentrate to pulverize his aura and send him back to nothingness. Yet Luke was still coming closer, and he could do nothing but back away.

"You must have read a lot of terrible things about him in the Empire archives, heard a lot of stories... Snoke must have even made a martyr of him. An icon of the Dark Side. And I am responsible for that too. I should have told you about him myself instead of thinking it was a bad idea to remember. Leia and I thought it would only upset you more. But in truth, the only people we didn't want to see suffer were ourselves. Leia only knew the dark side of our father. And I regret it. But I owe you the truth today. You, who want to be like him and continue his "work," you have to see what really happened ... You have to see that it's never too late."

Kylo suddenly felt his back hit the wall of his room. When he opened his eyes, he saw Luke's fingers grabbing his arm that was still stretched out in front of him. Against all odds, the old man's grip was firm and sturdy, and he could feel the warmth of his uncle's palm as well as an intense stream of energy running from his head to his toes. His mind was sucked into a huge black hole, manhandled and tossed until it was cut off from time and space.

_**He was on a footbridge overlooking a reactor. In front of him, lightsabers clashed. He was short of breath and his blood was pulsing in his veins. He was fighting. Green beam against red beam. But this time, it was not he who handled the scarlet blade. His adversary, a mountain draped in black, countered him blow for blow.**_

_**Vader.**_

_**He struck again and again until the Sith flexed and tilted back. Then he lowered his saber one last time, and the armed hand of his enemy detached itself from his arm and fell to the depths below.**_

_**He heard the sneers of a shadow behind him and the voice invited him to join the Dark Side. It was Palpatine. He heard himself refuse, saying he was a Jedi, just like Anakin, once. Then he found himself thrown to the ground, shaken by a blistering pain. Every cell in his body was burning. It was a torture. Incandescent purple lightning flashed across him.**_

"_**Father, please!" He shouted at Vader.**_

_**"Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side," echoed the malignant voice a few feet away.**_

_**At the edge of losing consciousness, he saw Vader screaming, lifting the hooded shadow and hurling it into the heart of the reactor. The explosion that followed made the entire bridge shake.**_

_**Then, the scenery changed.**_

_**He was now in a boarding hangar in the midst of total chaos. Soldiers were shouting, and people ran in all directions. Their uniforms were strangely similar to those of the First Order military. He felt the urgency. He was dragging something **__**— **__**no, some**_**one**_**. He had to escape ... He pulled the body to the foot of the lowered ramp of a shuttle. The smashed metal helmet he had so often contemplated, sitting in his room, was here intact and shining in front of him.**_

"_**Luke, help me take this mask off."**_

"_**But you will die …"**_

_**The impression was strange. He was talking but it was Luke's voice, devastated and pleading, that was escaping from his mouth.**_

"_**Nothing can stop that now, just for once let me look at you with my own eyes."**_

_**So he complied. He removed the parts of the helmet piece by piece to discover a pale face and a deformed skull, covered in scars. But what struck him most profoundly was seeing the smile of this man who looked at him with pride and admiration.**_

"_**Now go my son, leave me..."**_

"_**No you're coming with me. I'll not leave you here, I've got to save you."**_

"_**You already have. Luke, you were right, you were right about me, tell your sister, you were right."**_

_**Then Vader closed his eyes and he felt his body weigh a little heavier in his arms.**_

"_**Father, I won't leave you."**_

_**But it was finished. A tear ran down his cheek. Anakin Skywalker was gone.**_

Suddenly, his vision dimmed and everything went black. He panicked before realizing he could once again see the austere decor of his bedroom. He was shaking all over, and a feeling of nausea took him by the throat. Luke was gone. He let himself slide back to the floor, his back still pressed against the wall, his eyes wild as he tried to catch his breath.

OoooooO

Armitage Hux stared without moving at the empty throne on the platform. He was still struggling to come to terms with the fact that just a few weeks earlier, the tall silhouette of Supreme Leader Snoke had been sitting quietly on the same seat and giving him orders. He tried in vain to inhale and exhale calmly in order to chase away the ball of anguish that knotted his stomach.

The time had come. There was no turning back possible.

An officer burst into the room and Hux did not even deign to look at him.

"General, the Supreme Leader has been informed that you wish to see him immediately. He is on his way and your instructions have been followed to the letter."

"Good," Hux answered, stiffening a little more.

It had been two hours since he'd tried to gain access to Ren's apartments, without success. The officer's footsteps moved away and were soon replaced by the familiar slap of several pairs of boots. He turned to see that Sylla, Yehnu, Bram and Viri Pax had joined him and were now forming a line in front of him.

They seemed nervous too, and stared at him with gravity.

"Master your emotions, Hux," Viri ordered. "I could feel your fear and panic from the hallway."

Instinctively, Hux's hand went to his belt, reassured to find his blaster secure in its place. He examined the impassive faces of the knights. Bram was the only one to look annoyed and uncomfortable.

Finally, Kylo's silhouette appeared on the doorstep. Hux was not the only one to notice that the Supreme Leader of the First Order looked awful. He seemed to carry the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders and deep dark circles framed his eyes. The scar on his right cheek was more prominent than ever. Hux and the knights exchanged intrigued looks.

_What had happened to him? Did he suspect something?_

Kylo walked to climb the few steps to the throne. Once seated, he grabbed the polished armrests before finally giving them his attention.

"So you have some news about the hyperdrive tracker?" he questioned, his voice rough and unusually feverish.

Hux took a few seconds before reacting.

"Yes, Supreme Leader. The technicians told me that the system would be operational in two hours at most."

Kylo shot him a murderous look.

"And that's all? You called me here for this? A simple message on my holopad would have been sufficient!"

A deathly silence settled in the vast room. The soldier opened his mouth to reply but he sensed a movement on his right and saw the Zabrak move towards the throne and stand in front of Ren.

"No, that's not all, we have something else to show you, and we'd like you to give us your opinion," Viri let out with a too-solemn tone. "General Hux, if you please." The Zabrak turned to the redhead.

Armitage forced himself to walk over to the holocom and activate it.

The video started, displaying the setting of the throne room on the _Supremacy_. Kylo and Rey, back to back, were fighting the Praetorian guard. The images, although fuzzy and of poor quality, were overwhelming.

All eyes turned simultaneously to the Supreme Leader.

Kylo Ren was still staring at the screen, as motionless as a statue, his face as pale as a ghost.


	11. CHAPTER 10

**16 days after the Battle of Crait-Base Rebel of Arbra:**

Rey was finishing packing her stuff. They were scheduled to depart for Hoth in one hour. She let out a sigh of disappointment as she thought about her friends and their mission on Endor's moon. She would have liked to meet Leman Drill to ask him all the questions that had been bothering her since she'd left Jakku. Her father's brooch was resting on her bookshelf by the bed, and Maz's words went back and forth in her head.

This emblem belonged to the Naboo Royal Council.

Ever since her conversation with the small, orange-skinned woman, Rey's mind had been turning at full speed, thinking about different scenarios. Were her parents really from Naboo? Were they part of the aristocracy, or even of the nobility? No, it was stupid ... The most likely explanation was the one she gave Maz that day: her parents had found that object while rummaging through the wreckage of a crashed ship somewhere. In the time of the Empire, many battles had taken place between Imperial Forces and the Naboo. Or maybe her parents had simply stolen it? Ridiculous: Naboo high dignitaries were always escorted by a slew of armed guards, even in the seediest spaceports in the galaxy. Perhaps a bet? A payment in exchange for spare parts? Here again, she couldn't imagine a Naboo aristocrat compromising himself with a couple of scavengers and trading a splendid royal jewel for some pieces of durasteel. The more time passed, the more curiosity devoured her, and her assumptions became increasingly far-fetched.

Shortly after her return from Jakku, before revealing the truth to Finn, Rey had consulted Resistance databases looking for all available information on the various governments that had followed one another in the city of Theed for the past hundred standard years. She had learned that cohabitation between the Naboo and Gungan people had been complicated at first. Some colonized the surface while the others built bubble cities beneath the surface of Lake Paongah.

Many of the archives contained illustrations showing the broad cobblestone streets, domes, columns, flowered balconies, statues and canals crisscrossing the capital city of Theed. The palace was built on the edge of majestic waterfalls. It was the seat of the Royal Council, composed of a sovereign elected by the people, a governor and a cabinet of six members. At each transfer of power, the entire Council was renewed.

Rey had compiled hundreds of files, memorized dates, scanned dozens of family trees, and observed dozens of photos in detail. She had gone back in time and discovered the destiny of these extraordinary women who had ruled the planet for centuries: Sosha Soruna, Neeyutnée, Jamillia... And in each picture where the queens posed with their family members, Rey had noticed that even their parents wore royal insignia.

_Another lead to pursue ..._

Among all the queens she'd discovered, the one that caught her attention was Padmé Amidala, the youngest daughter of a modest Naboo family, and wife of Anakin Skywalker. Rey had been fascinated by the story of this young woman, beloved by her people, gone tragically all too soon. Anakin had fallen to the Dark Side and killed his pregnant wife. The babies, Luke and Leia, had been saved but were separated at birth.

_What a tragic story._

The young woman could not help but think about Ben. Had he searched the past too? Was that why he wanted to erase, at all costs, everything that bound him to his family?

Once again, she realized that her mind was always bringing her back to him, no matter what she did...

She closed her canvas bag and leaned over to pick up her staff. A strange pain suddenly erupted in her abdomen and disappeared just as quickly. Rey put a hand under her chest and rubbed her ribs slightly. She probably still needed rest but it was out of the question to postpone the mission. She was about to go out when her eyes rested for a moment on the Jedi books and the pieces of the lightsaber still waiting on the little table.

_One thing after another ..._

First of all, she had to go to Hoth to find some parts to repair the accumulators, and then she'd fix Luke's saber, and finally, go to Naboo to discover the whole truth.

OooooO

**At the same time, aboard the **_**Finalizer**_**:**

Time had stopped. Kylo Ren's face was impenetrable again. Hux noticed the involuntary flicker of his cheekbone just below his left eye and knew that it did not bode well. He'd already seen, on many occasions, that this nervous twitch was the harbinger of a storm.

Without a word, Kylo rose from his seat and descended the few steps of the platform to come and stand before the general and his knights. By pure reflex, Hux took a step back. The atmosphere was suffocating.

"You lied to us. The girl didn't kill Snoke," Viri hissed.

Still motionless, Ren analyzed the situation.

Sylla gave him a devastating look, not bothering to hide her emotions anymore, her hatred and jealousy devouring her from the inside. She did not care at all about Snoke's death. All her thoughts were focused on that dirty little bitch who thought she was a Jedi, and on the feeling of betrayal that ravaged her heart.

Yehnu remained impervious but anger was bubbling inside him like molten lava. And Bram's eyes were full of disappointment.

Kylo then realized there was no way out.

"Yes, it was me," he confessed.

Bram's final doubts about Kylo's guilt flew away.

"And thus I completed my training, as the student defeated the Master. Snoke was no longer useful to me. You, who never hesitate to put forth your precious Sith doctrine, should be the first to approve what I did."

There was a moment of hesitation before Sylla screamed: "You attacked Snoke with this girl! "

"To allow her to escape!" Viri spat in turn. "What did she do or promise you to make you join forces with this rebel scum?"

Kylo gritted his teeth. His knights were becoming uncontrollable. He felt it. He would not be able to manipulate them this time. He suddenly wondered where Elias might be.

"I asked her to join me, to join the First Order. The Force is extremely powerful in her. I thought she could have made a valuable asset but …"

Yehnu, who had not said a word until then, interrupted him without compunction: "Now I understand why you've become so reluctant to eradicate the Resistance. This girl turned you."

"Traitor..." Sylla said before grabbing her sword to activate it.

Hux continued his discreet and silent progression toward the back of the room. Things were going badly and he had no intention of being caught in the middle of a clash between these Dark Side practitioners.

Yehnu took his weapon too and came slowly between Kylo and the throne. Viri displayed a sadistic smile before doing the same. Ren found himself surrounded.

"You're absolutely right," the Zabrak added. "The student must one day surpass the Master. And I think that day has finally arrived for us too."

Then everything became chaos. Kylo heard Bram's sword ignite and felt Yéhnu and Viri converge on him from behind. He had just enough time to turn and take his own weapon in hand.

He dodged the rattataki's yellow blade and defused a shock wave projected by Viri. Sylla's tried a mental attack on him, but he managed to block it before jumping to the right to prevent Bram from piercing his chest. The brunette warrior charged him and he took advantage of her too-low guard to hit her without restraint on the face. She collapsed on the floor, a little dazed.

The dance of sabers continued for several minutes.

Viri slashed Kylo's arm and gave him an uppercut that popped his lower lip. Bram sliced his thigh. Kylo was weakening, but he could now focus all his will on his opponents without Sylla intruding on his mind. Viri threw a new shock wave, but Kylo managed to redirect it to Yehnu, who was propelled against the throne. Bram's scream of rage echoed to his left. With a clever parry, the young boy dodged the scarlet blade aimed at his head, and struck back with ferocity. But Kylo felt a weakness in the Arkanian's determination, as if the white-haired kid was holding his blow.

Hux stared at the scene with a mixture of shock and exaltation. Ren's disciples were finally close to winning. But Kylo was fighting with the fury of desperation. Hux had to admit that Snoke's former apprentice was impressive. He understood why the Praetorian guards were unable to take him down in the throne room.

Sylla's saber was now on the other side of the room. Her vision was still blurry and her jaw was aching. In front of her, Viri and Bram continued their assault on Kylo, who was beginning to falter. She spat a little blood on the floor and reached back to pull two long daggers out of her pack. She met Bram's gaze, and saw immediate understanding in his eyes. Viri too. Yehnu nodded. The three boys simultaneously launched a new attack and Kylo had to use his power again to push them away. As a result, he did not see Sylla arrive behind him. She drove one of her knives with all her strength into Ren's right side. She would have struck him with the second, but he turned around and lacerated her chest with one of the short guard beams on his saber. This time, Sylla fell on the ground, unconscious.

Bram, Viri, and Yehnu froze for a moment, panting and motionless around their Master who was now staggering and groaning in pain, the dagger still lodged just below his ribs. Kylo grabbed the handle and removed it without hesitation. A jet of dark blood escaped the wound and began to spill onto the floor. Then Ren bent one knee, sinking down to put a hand on the ground. He was finished. They were going to tear him to pieces. At that moment, strangely, the three knights hesitated, as if Kylo Ren at their mercy could not be real.

"You are dead," Viri Pax finally shouted as he pulled himself together and walked toward him.

Kylo inhaled deeply and tried to overcome the extreme pain and weakness that were threatening to overwhelm him. The image of Luke's ghost impressed itself on his closed eyelids. He saw his grandfather's lifeless body too, in the middle of the Death Star's hangar about to explode.

A whole life wasted on obeying the Jedi, then the Emperor. These people saw in him only a servant, a weapon to achieve their ends. All this had destroyed his family. His legacy was based only on lies and suffering.

So no ... It was out of the question for him to die slumped here, curled up at the feet of these Sith puppets.

Rage returned to supplant exhaustion. Fury returned to overcome weakness. A familiar wave was born in the hollow of his belly to billow out and spread in his chest. It was like the swell of a typhoon. His hatred for all those who'd lied to him, used him, betrayed him - Luke, Rey, Snoke, Sylla, Bram, Viri, Yehnu, Han, and even Vader - came up from the depths of his soul. So he focused it, tamed it to convert it into pure energy.

Viri was about to strike under the satisfied gaze of General Hux and the four other knights.

Reviving every cell and every nerve fiber in Kylo's body, the energy pulsed and wandered to his hands. As if immersed in a second state, he held out his arms and his piercing cry echoed throughout the room. A stream of purple and blue lightning flashed from his fingers and branched out in crackling bolts that hit the four black knights full force. Only Hux, who was in retreat, escaped the dazzling attack by throwing himself on the ground before the electric arcs reached him.

When everything was over, Kylo collapsed, totally emptied and on the verge of losing consciousness. His opponents were all down. He stared at his hands for a moment, still in shock. Never before had he been able to create Force lightning. The only people he'd seen do that were Snoke, on two or three occasions, and Palpatine, in Luke's vision.

An unbearable pain suddenly shot through his side and he began to moan. A pool of blood had formed below him. He had to stop the bleeding or he was going to die here.

Suddenly, he perceived a slight movement next to the exit. Hux, flat on the floor, was trying to crawl out. The coward did not even have the courage to use his blaster to kill Kylo himself, but if he managed to reach the corridor, he would send a squadron of stormtroopers in to achieve this aim. Although Ren was the leader of the First Order, he knew that Hux's precious soldiers would obey him without question.

Forgetting the soldier, Kylo got up and walked painfully the ten meters that separated him from the platform. He passed in front of the motionless bodies of Viri and Yehnu to come collapse on the first steps.

Hurried footsteps echoed through the entrance and the imposing figure of Elias stopped in the doorway. The tall blonde showed a frightened face at the sight of his four unconscious comrades on the floor and Hux spread out at his feet.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed before running across the room to join Kylo.

He knelt beside him and tipped him to the side to see the extent of the damage. Then the knight glanced furtively towards the exit. Hux was gone.

Ren then ordered in a weak voice: "Call the guards, these four must be taken to a detention cell before they wake up." Then he began to cough and a spurt of scarlet came from his mouth. On the point of wiping his lips with his sleeve, he suddenly stopped.

Something was wrong.

Elias had risen to his full height to loom over Kylo, and was now wearing a ridiculously exaggerated expression of sorrow on his face.

"What a mess ..." the blond man sighed, looking up to the ceiling.

Kylo's heart missed a beat.

"See? I told them to wait for me. But you know them, they are worse than children, undisciplined and too impatient. If I had been there, you would definitely be dead by now."

Kylo took a few seconds to assimilate what he'd just heard. When he finally realized what was happening, he suppressed a bubble of fury and reached out to grab his saber on the ground a few feet away. But Elias was faster and the weapon lifted to land in his palm.

"The Great Kylo, Master of the Knights of Ren and new Supreme Leader of the First Order!" he continued in a theatrical tone. "Did you really believe that I was going to let you destroy everything I've always believed in?"

Leia's son stared at him silently, struggling to breathe. Elias now seemed to delight in his expression of disgust and added with a hoarse laugh, "I've been searching forever for a way to make these idiots see how weak you really are! You can't even imagine how exhausting it was! Viri was afraid of you, Bram revered you as a God, Sylla was madly in love and Yehnu's fawning gratitude to you was pitiful. Speaking of Yehnu, I've always been so disheartened to see how close the two of you have become. Perhaps because of the comforting shoulder you gave him at the death of his dear little brother. What a misfortune, is not it? This poor Jor, unfortunately murdered by rebels …"

Elias began to sneer and Kylo's face broke.

"It was you. You killed Jor …" he whispered, climbing up a little more on the platform.

"This moron discovered my secret and he immediately wanted to inform you. I was not going to let him do it."

"What secret?" Kylo asked without understanding.

The tall blond activated Ren's lightsaber and began to admire the crackling red blade. Then he pointed it directly at Kylo's chest while giving him a look full of hatred.

"Do you really think you were Snoke's only apprentice?"

So that was it. Everything was clearing now in Kylo's mind. How could he have been so stupid?

He remembered, now, the mysterious missions entrusted to Elias by the old man, sending him out for weeks of supposedly keeping order on isolated planets of the Outer Rim ... Whenever he returned, the progress he had made in the mastery of the Force was remarkable. Not to mention his growing interest in ancient Sith texts ...

Kylo had known Elias for so many years that he had forgotten the most basic principles of the Dark Side: "power to the strongest" and "never trust anyone."

"After your little speech about your new ambitions for the First Order, I went to pay a visit to our dear Armitage Hux," Elias spat. "He showed me this very interesting video of your performance against the Praetorian Guard alongside this girl. I must say that I did not expect him to be so useful to me. I think you underestimated the man. After that, I just organized a small viewing with our four comrades and voilà! The great Kylo Ren finally fell from his pedestal."

The face of the Sith had a cold determination. He stepped forward and the blade almost touched Ren's cheek. The latter, however, gave him a defiant look.

"Does Yehnu know that you killed his brother?"

"Because you think you'll have the opportunity to tell him?" Elias jeered.

Against all odds, he lowered his weapon and stepped back to where Bram's body lay on the ground, without losing sight of Kylo.

"I am impressed!" he smirked with sham admiration. "Force lightning? Wow! I did not expect that! Can you do it again?"

Kylo clenched his teeth, struggling to get up, and Elias laughed again.

The blond knight raised his hand and Bram's dead body was raised and held in the air as if it weighed nothing. With a gesture as unexpected as it was sadistic, Elias pierced his chest with the scarlet blade before letting the Arkanian's body fall like a rag doll.

Kylo flinched. He suddenly felt like throwing up. The young boy may have turned against him, but he certainly did not deserve to die like this.

"So sad!" he joked again. "I arrived too late!"

Elias then continued to play out his sordid comedy.

"When I burst into the room, you had just coldly executed Bram, and the others were about to meet the same fate at your hands! We fought and by the grace of the Dark Side, I defeated you. What do you think about my little story?"

Kylo winced as he reached the top of the steps leading to the throne. He was still trying to apply pressure to his abdominal injury, and Elias watched him do so with amusement.

"You are a traitor ..." Kylo said in a rattle.

"Pftttttt, Kylo…. You are not in a position to talk to me about treason."

At that moment, a squadron of stormtroopers burst into the room, guns in hand. Hux had finally sent troops to finish the job. Taking advantage of Elias' momentary distraction, Kylo gathered his last strength to lift the throne and throw it at the tall blond's face. But Elias was not surprised. He also used the Force to avoid being crushed by the imposing projectile. As a result, he released Ren's sword, and Kylo took the opportunity to get his weapon back.

A voice from the corridor shouted to open fire and the soldiers complied. The shots almost hit Elias who, furious, turned to propel the levitating metal seat in front of him onto the first row of troopers.

"Idiots!" he roared.

Kylo was finally able to reach the wall. He put his hand on one of the sliding panels to reveal what appeared to be an elevator shaft. He threw himself inside with the force of despair before the wall closed behind him.

"No!" Elias yelled as Kylo disappeared.

The knight rushed to the top of the promontory and tried in vain to move the wall again, without success. Then he went straight to the holocom and activated it.

"To all hangars, no ships are authorized to leave the _Finalizer_. General Hux's orders!" he shouted.

"All the transports are nailed to the ground, Sir," one of the technicians replied.

Suddenly, through the panoramic window of the room, Elias saw a shuttle speeding away from the destroyer.

"Damn it! What did I just tell you, you hopeless incompetent! I can see from here that a ship is leaving!"

"My apologies, Sir, but that shuttle is not part of any loading dock. It was actually docked on a deck below where you are. "

Elias let out a cry of rage and punched the holocom so hard that the console cracked. He then saw Ren's shuttle go into hyperspace, permanently out of reach of the _Finalizer_.

OooooO

_Author's note :_

_OK. Now we know why Kylo was on Hoth, bleeding and desperate._  
_The next chapter will take place after a four month time jump._  
_Bendemption is on the good way._  
_I hope you will enjoy it but as no one leaves reviews, I do not know what to think. If you like this story, please please, leave me some comments! Or tell me what I have to improve ! ;-)))))_

_xoxo_


	12. CHAPTER 11

**It's a very long chapter ! I hope you will enjoy it !**

**PART II**

**Four months later**

**Planet Malachor - Outer Rim:**

Elias was standing on the huge balcony overlooking the plain. The wind had calmed down and the muffled light of the setting sun colored the rocky landscape with ocher and brown. Half-collapsed monoliths were lying on the black heath in front of him. Between the stone blocks, petrified human silhouettes with grotesque postures cast their gloomy shadows over the remains of an ancient battlefield. Nature had recovered its rights, even though the vegetation consisted of only a few rickety bushes and rare climbing plants winding on the old columns.

The blond knight looked at the hundred or so workers working below the gigantic pyramid.

He had ordered that the temple, partially destroyed for several decades, be rebuilt and as the work was coming to an end, he was more than satisfied. The building had regained its former prestige and the New Sith Order was finally reborn. Footsteps sounding behind him suddenly drew him from his contemplation. Armitage Hux, attired in his impeccable uniform, was crossing the hall to join him on the terrace.

"Welcome to Malachor, General! To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

The smile on his lips evaporated when Elias saw the scowling face of the soldier.

"Another attack from the Resistance," Hux hissed. "They destroyed the complex on Diyu that was supposed to supply the generators for our new weapons."

"I thought we had reached an agreement with the Hutts," the knight replied. "This planet is in their space. It was their responsibility to protect it. We pay them handsomely for that!"

"I told you that we could not trust those criminals. Allying ourselves with them was not a good idea. They are anything but reliable. All that interests them is making a profit and expanding their hold on the Mid Rim systems."

"'Allies' is a big word, Hux. They simply provide us with slaves to rebuild our fleet and the mercenaries and spies we need to find Kylo Ren. WE have control over the planets of the Mid Rim."

The soldier tensed.

"It's been months since Ren escaped. Who knows where he could be now? We have searched all the places where he might have taken refuge, but it will be impossible to find him if we don't place a clear price on his head!"

"Don' be stupid, Hux!" Elias barked. "As far as everyone else knows, Kylo must still _**be**_ our Supreme Leader. If our officers and our troops continue to perform as they should, it's because they believe that he is still in charge. His reputation and the fear he inspires throughout the galaxy are our most valuable assets. Can you imagine what would happen if people learn that Darth Vader's grandson has failed the First Order? And that reminds me: what about the stormtroopers who witnessed his escape in the throne room?"

"The problem has been solved," Hux answered. "The mental reconditioning worked perfectly, I made sure of it myself. On the other hand, your visits on the annexed planets, helmeted and dressed like him, may be working for the moment, but what will happen if the truth gets out?"

"And whose fault is that, Hux? It was your stupidity that allowed Ren to escape on that shuttle!"

"How could I have guessed that he had planned a way to escape from the _Finalizer_ and that our hyperspace tracker would still be out of order?"

"You made the huge mistake of underestimating him. He had an excellent teacher in the person of Snoke. All your loyal minions spying on each of his deeds and actions were not even able to discover that he had had this rescue ship installed, and that he had transferred funds from the accounts on Coruscant! He escaped with a real fortune! He might be able to hide for years without being found."

"Maybe he joined the Resistance?" Hux suggested.

"You're joking, right ? He probably hates them more than he hates us, and I doubt he would be welcomed there with open arms. No. He's hiding somewhere like a rat. We must absolutely find him and eliminate him once and for all."

A gleam of satisfaction glowed in Hux's eyes.

"You said you saw him badly wounded in the throne room. Is it possible he might not have survived?"

"If only …" Elias stared at the burning horizon.

"Listen," Hux added, "we have tripled the number of ships in our fleet, and eight new destroyers are now operational. Viri Pax has replaced Phasma at the head of the trooper training program. Sylla is in charge of negotiations with both the Hutts and our various supporters, and I must admit that she excels in this area. Naboo is totally paralyzed by the increased surveillance that we impose on them and can no longer support the Resistance. Our domination grows a little more each day. The First Order is about to regain the power and prestige it had under Snoke's reign."

Elias turned to him again.

"Our collaboration seems more fruitful than you expected, does it not?"

The soldier weighed each of his words.

_Was it a trick question?_

_Prudence and submission ..._

"It was my duty to inform you of Kylo Ren's traitorous actions. But now that you are the Supreme Leader of the First Order, I want you to know that I fully agree with your methods and decisions."

The dark knight smiled, but Armitage knew very well that he had not been fooled. Elias Ren was the undisputed king of hypocrisy, and Hux's insincere words seemed to amuse him.

"You and I have more in common than you thought, General. We are both hungry for power, and we want to see order and discipline reign in the galaxy through force. But you're right, I'm the leader of the First Order now, and I will reward your loyalty."

Hux continued to play his double-sided game. "I am also delighted that your comrades have accepted your new position without any problem."

Elias began to inspect his hands and readjust his gloves one after the other.

"Indeed. I also became the new Master of the Knights of Ren. They will do what I tell them to do. You manage our armed forces and eradicate the Resistance; I'll take care of the rest …"

A ten-year-old boy wearing a black tunic suddenly appeared on the threshold of the balcony. Elias's face lit up and, with a nod, he invited the child to speak.

"My Lord, the great room is ready."

"Excellent! Hux, I will finally be able to show you our beautiful facilities. I hope you are an architecture lover. This new Sith temple is absolutely grandiose."

The soldier was wary for a moment, watching the boy leave where he had come from.

"One of your new disciples?" he dared to ask without much enthusiasm.

"Yes. Having Viri in charge of the stormtrooper program has the advantage of allowing us to detect Force-sensitive elements that we will then train on the Dark Side."

Armitage displayed an unwilling smile and followed the knight.

Elias had decided to rebuild the Sith Order and the military was worried about it. Hux knew very well that for now, the big blond needed him to lead the First Order's army. But once the Resistance was eliminated, the general, despite Elias's honeyed words, had no idea what his future would be. He never thought that one day he'd come to miss Snoke's former apprentice. Kylo was much easier to understand, in the end. The new Supreme Leader was, without a doubt, infinitely more treacherous and Machiavellian than Ren, and it would be much more difficult for Armitage to get rid of him and his little clique. And besides, as if to prove him right, Elias suddenly turned around and announced:

"On reflection, Hux, I think we must give a good lesson to the Naboo people. Why waste time and energy spying on them, when we know very well that these renegades have always supported the Resistance, and will continue to support it? Send all our available destroyers and the necessary troops to the Chommell System. I want this planet under our control within two standard days."

OooooO

**Rebel Base Haven-Planet Arbra:**

Poe disembarked first. Leia was waiting for him outside the hangar and greeted him with a relieved smile.

"Mission accomplished, Captain?" she asked.

But the pilot seemed upset.

"We recovered the information and destroyed our target on Diyu. Everything went as planned ... with a few exceptions," he added before turning his head to glare at Rey and Finn coming down from the carrier's ramp.

Leia's scowled.

"Dameron, what…"

But Leia did not have time to continue. Poe moved around her and strode away.

"Poe!" she called, but the pilot had already left the hangar.

Rey and Finn arrived in front of the general, displaying frustrated faces too.

"If the mission is a success, why are you all so unhappy?" Leia asked them reproachfully.

Rey kept her eyes on her boots and, without a word, took the same path as Poe. Finn called her name and was about to follow her when Leia grabbed his arm to hold him back.

"Will someone please tell me what happened?" she questioned with a stern look.

The young man grimaced before answering.

"To make a long story short, Rey and Poe had a little divergence of opinion during the mission. Rey wanted us to blow up the last building in the complex because their weapons were stored there. Poe felt it was too dangerous, and maybe also said a couple of things that did not please Rey."

Leia rolled her eyes.

"Come on! I thought everything was okay between them! I feel like I'm dealing with a bunch of kids who bicker constantly over nothing!"

Finn bowed his head just like a little boy scolded by his mother.

"I'll talk to Dameron. You talk to Rey," Leia ordered, giving the young man a pat on the shoulder.

OoooooO

Finn was walking with a determined step down the hallway to the scavenger's room, when he suddenly heard a cheerful voice calling out to him. He turned to discover a little woman with a big smile running towards him. She threw herself into his arms and the young man almost fell back under the impact.

"You're back!" Rose exclaimed, hugging him hard.

She huddled her face in the crook of his neck, and Finn let out a mischievous laugh.

"Hi, you!"

Without giving him time to breathe, Rose hitched herself up on tiptoe and captured the young man's lips eagerly. Finn allowed himself to be carried away by the little tornado-brunette and received the kiss with delight. When they were both running out of oxygen, he pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.

"I missed you," he murmured.

"I missed you too," Rose said, rubbing the tip of her nose against his. "How did the mission go? Tell me!"

"Very well," Finn replied, "except that I still have to mediate between Poe and Rey."

Rose gave him a sympathetic look.

It had now been three weeks since the young people had declared their love for one another — which had outright delighted all members of the base, who'd wondered when the two lovebirds would finally take the plunge.

"They are both equally stubborn!" the technician sighed.

"I have to go talk to Rey. This time, their little altercation on Diyu nearly got us killed."

"Ok, go," Rose encouraged him, kissing his cheek. "I'll wait for you in the refectory."

As she walked away, Finn did not miss the pert smile she threw at him before disappearing around the corner.

OooooO

The spare parts of Luke's lightsaber were spread on the table, and the sacred Jedi texts all open and scattered near her on the bed. Rey had read and re-read them hundreds of times. She now knew them all by heart. The young woman stared at the different components with an empty gaze as her fingers massaged her temples with a mechanical gesture.

She could not do it. It was useless to persist. She had tried again and again since Leia had given her the crystals but something was preventing her from succeeding.

She had always been able to fix any machine with an ease that she could not explain. It was as if she could perfectly visualize every microchip in her mind, as if she knew instinctively what wires to connect or which circuits to reconnect — she now knew that it was her ability to manipulate the Force which was largely responsible for her skills.

But here… Nothing.

She wanted to send everything flying through the room. If Luke had been with her, he would certainly have scorned her for giving up. But damn it, why couldn't she manage to put the pieces of this saber back together? Despite all her efforts, she still failed to merge her energy with that of the crystals to allow the components to assemble properly, as advocated by the sacred texts.

Completely discouraged, she let out a spiteful grunt and left her cabin. She paced the corridors of the base and headed for the exit. She needed fresh air, to feel the wind on her face and the warm sun on her skin.

When she was finally outside, she walked a few minutes among the trees to reach the small promontory she loved so much. She had found this peaceful place during her solo wanderings in the heart of the forest. Arriving at the destination, the young woman sat cross-legged on the edge of the rocky precipice overlooking the green velvet of the canopy. She tried to calm her breath by inhaling and exhaling deeply in the soft evening air. Her eyes caught the horizon. Unlike the island on which Luke Skywalker had exiled himself, those that made up the liveable space on the planet Arbra were much larger. Rey could not even distinguish what was at the end of the vast expanse of vegetation.

She had discovered so much in a short time: the snow on _Starkiller_, green forests here and on Takodana, the ocean on Ahch-To. Green and blue had become her favorite colors.

She closed her eyes and concentrated. It became easier now to perceive the energy of each living being around her. She was able to do it at each meditation session. She could feel the movements of the sap, going up along the thousands of tree trunks in front of her, the multitude of insects teeming in the heart of the underworld, and the predators hunting in the forest.

The Force, all around her. And the Force vibrating inside her body as well.

"This force is not exclusive to the Jedi," Luke had told her during his first lesson on Ahch-To. And he was right. Everyone could find in his or her heart the courage and determination to fight for a better future and to perform miracles.

_So what was she supposed to do now?_

The Resistance was counting on her to walk in the footsteps of Skywalker. She had inherited the title of "the Last Jedi."

_By all the stars of the galaxy ..._

She was just beginning to master all her powers and did not understand half of the things written in the sacred texts! She absolutely did not feel worthy to be compared, even from afar, to the famous knights of the millennium-old Order.

His consciousness drifted to the west ... and towards the concert of beating hearts inside the base. New recruits had joined the ranks, and in four months the number of rebels on Arbra had increased fivefold. Of course, the numbers were not yet sufficient to launch large-scale offensives as they had in the past, but they'd led some successful sabotage missions against the First Order. Several other bases had been created and the fleet was being reconstituted little by little in the underground factories, thanks to the secret financing of their allies. Their network of informants was back in place and the majority of Leia's supporters had resumed contact. Everything was going pretty well for now.

Except for her.

It all started four months ago. Finn's report of their mission on Hoth had plunged the Resistance into the deepest circumspection. Rey and he had come upon Kylo Ren, alone and badly injured in the middle of the infirmary. They had tried to neutralize him but the Supreme Leader had unfortunately managed to escape.

Even Leia could not, this time, completely mask her astonishment. A strange glow had kindled in her dark eyes. Rey had recognized a mixture of anxiety and ... hope?

Questions and hypotheses abounded: had Kylo Ren faced a mutiny? Did his generals turn against him when they discovered that he had killed Snoke? Who was leading the enemy faction now? Hux? Another general even more ruthlessly ambitious?

Leia had tried to calm everyone down by saying they had to wait for confirmation that things had changed in the First Order. And so the Resistance had lived in anxious expectation during the days that followed.

Until they watched the first video.

The broadcast of the propaganda messages had begun exactly one week after the unexpected meeting of Finn and Rey with Kylo on Hoth. In each of them, the Supreme Leader's appearance was systematically staged, more charismatic and ruthless than ever, directing his troops to annex ever more planets or to execute ever more opponents in cold blood. Each time he appeared masked and without his lightsaber. Rey had repeatedly expressed her skepticism about these videos, but when this was met repeatedly by scandalized or suspicious looks, she quickly stopped arguing.

Likewise, Finn's incessant questions about her lack of reaction on Hoth had become unbearable. He also must have told others, because Poe and Rose had come to her to ask why she had not lifted a finger to prevent Ren from escaping. It was time to tell them everything, and so she did: the Force bond, the conflict she had felt deep in the soul of Leia's son, and her attempt to bring him back to the Light. Well, almost everything: she had not told them about Kylo's proposal to rule the galaxy with him.

To say that they had reacted very badly to all these revelations was an understatement. Poe had gone into a tantrum. He'd screamed, gesturing wildly, and accused her of putting the entire Resistance in danger.

"And Leia knew?" he had exclaimed, horrified. In fact, this was what had bothered Poe off most of all: Leia had not seen fit to share this vital information with him, and his pride had been hurt.

But Poe's scarred pride was nothing compared to Finn's reaction. The young man had lowered his eyes, unable to look at her any longer, and Rey felt like her heart had been ripped out, thrown to the ground, and stomped on.

Rose, just like Poe, had not hesitated to express all her resentment aloud: "That's why you were on the _Supremacy_? To try to bring him back to the Light side? What were you hoping for? He has clearly showed that he wants nothing to do with the Resistance, and only wants to exterminate all opponents of the First Order! I think it's proof enough to show that there's no redemption for him!"

Poe then took over to continue the firing session. "Rey, the Resistance owes you a lot. You saved us all on Crait and I can never thank you enough for that! I don't understand much about all these stories about the Force, the Jedi, the Dark Side, but all I know is that this guy is evil! And you know it as well as we do! He killed Han! He caused the death of so many brave soldiers whom I had the honor to count among my friends! He almost killed Leia when he shot the _Raddus_! He must be taken down! I hope you agree with that!"

Her throat tight, Rey could only nod her head silently in the face of Poe's overwhelming words. But the young woman had made one last attempt to explain herself: "If he had to flee the First Order, then maybe…"

Finn had risen and left the room. Rose had followed him without a glance for her. Poe had been the last to leave but he exclaimed before crossing the door: "Maybe what? Should we have pity on him? Do you think he felt sorry for the villagers on Tuanul? That he felt pity for the miners on Hays Minor? That he had pity on all the innocents he's massacred throughout the galaxy?! If you're right, and he fled the First Order, all I wish for him is that he disappear and never come back, because we'll be ruthless too."

Now, the sun was setting and a cool evening wind had risen. Rey slowly opened her eyes and let all the noise in her head dissipate completely. Although her spirit had calmed down since then, the memories were still painful.

She had apologized to Finn a hundred times, and a few days after her confession he had come knocking on her door to forgive her. Reconciling with Rose had been a little more difficult. After two long weeks of oppressive silence, the technician had finally started talking to her again. As for Poe, he continued, even today, to regularly express his dissatisfaction and concern about the possibility that the link between Rey and Kylo Ren was not permanently broken. She knew that Leia and the pilot had had a heated discussion about her, but she had not had the opportunity to attend the confrontation.

The young woman shuddered, while in the distance a flight of white birds crossed the purple and gold sky. She was following their fine, graceful silhouettes drifting towards the sunset when she heard footsteps behind her. Someone was coming up along the little path. She turned her head and saw Finn hesitating to join her at the edge of the cliff.

"Kaydel told me that you left the base, so I thought you would be here. Can I sit with you?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Of course," the young woman replied with a polite smile.

The ex-stormtrooper sat next to her and the two young people stared at the landscape for a long time without speaking. The birds disappeared on the horizon.

"Did Poe send you?" Rey finally asked.

"Why do you say that? Don't I have the right to come and chat with my best friend?"

"Ok. Poe sent you …" Rey repeated, but this time with a hard and vindictive tone. "Listen, if he still has a problem with me, he needs to come and settle it with me directly! You do not need to play the go-between."

"He only wants the best for us here."

The young woman let out a sarcastic snort and silence fell for a moment before Finn decided to restart the conversation.

"Rey, you know you can talk to me, don't you?"

The scavenger turned her head towards him, her big sad eyes looking at him. The former stormtrooper felt his heart melt a little more.

"I know …" she sighed. "I'm just upset with Poe."

"I've only been here for two minutes and you're already lying to me," the young man replied.

"I swear, I…"

"I don't think Poe's been your major cause for concern since we came back from Hoth," the ex-stormtrooper interrupted her.

This time the young woman looked down.

"It's him, Kylo Ren." Finn paused as if to give even more seriousness to these words. "You wince every time a holomessage shows him in full-force demonstration - no pun intended."

Rey remained silent.

"Please, tell me Rey ... What's happening to you?"

No answer.

"Rey …" Finn insisted.

The comlinks of the two young people vibrated synchronously.

"Captain Dameron, Lieutenant Nell, Rey and Finn. You are urgently requested at the command post."

"They're waiting for us." Rey jumped up, secretly blessing Kaydel's intervention.

Finn watched his friend run down the path. He got up in turn, swallowed a curse and started running after her.

Oooooooo

On the holocom, Kylo Ren's black, masked figure contrasted as usual with the white armor of the stormtrooper squad standing at attention behind him. Their weapons were pointed at a dozen high-ranking officers of the Naboo army, kneeling in front of them. Queen Megarana, on the left, was flanked by an escort of foot soldiers. Two large rivers of tears were flowing down her white-painted cheeks. The Master of the knights of Ren approached and stared at her haughtily.

The young woman looked tiny next to the gigantic dark man, but she stood there as if made of marble, eyes staring straight ahead, as the synthetic voice spoke to her: "You are defeated. This planet is now under the control of the First Order. Kneel down in front of your Supreme Leader."

Megarana did not move at all. Then the masked knight raised his arm to her, his hand outstretched, and the young woman's face began to crumple. She shook, and her legs bent irresistibly until her knees touched the ground.

"You bastard …" One of the high-ranking Naboo had screamed at the Supreme Leader.

Without giving him time to finish, he turned his arm towards him and tightened his fingers. The man began to suffocate and a few seconds later, he collapsed dead in front of his paralyzed counterparts.

A voice-over then announced the total and definitive annexation of Naboo and extolled the omnipotence of the First Order.

Leia asked Kaydel to cut the video. Everyone around the holocom seemed shocked. Poe was the first to break the heavy silence that had settled in the room.

"It's impossible, how could they take control of Naboo so fast?"

But no one seemed to have the answer.

"Leman Drill was not on the video," Larma d'Acy noticed.

Poe felt a cold, muffled rage mount in him, gradually replacing the stupor of the last minutes. He knew from the moment the words crossed the barrier of his lips that he was going to regret having said them.

"Do you still think it's not Kylo Ren behind this mask?"

He had just spoken to Rey. The young woman kept her eyes fixed on the screen. She didn't have the courage to answer — not after what they'd just seen.

"Poe …" Finn scolded.

The pilot sighed and raised his hands in front of him with silent apologies. He then watched Leia's reaction. The general was alarmingly pale. Poe was upset to see her looking more and more stricken every time she had to witness the implacable cruelty of her son.

"Our informants say that the Supreme Leader never moves without the knights of Ren now," Lieutenant Dezel said.

Sighs of consternation arose among the members of the assembly. It was hard enough to fight Kylo Ren alone. But flanked by four other proficient Force users, it became a lot more complicated.

"Oh Maker…" Leia sighed, stepping back to sit on the chair behind her.

Chewie, leaning against a wall in the back of the room, threw out a grumbling growl.

The general had always made a point of being strong and determined in front of her men. She was supposed to be the rock on which everyone could rely. Never falter, hold on, no matter what. But apparently she was failing, in light of the worried looks the audience was giving her. She felt so old now ... Old and helpless.

Poe had taken a step towards her, and before he could take a second, she said: "We cannot do anything for them in the current state of things. Just pray that as many people as possible were able to leave the planet and find a safe haven — I'm thinking mostly of Leman Drill. He holds too much sensitive intel about us. Megarana does not know anything. She didn't want to be informed of the details of our agreements for safety's sake, and I salute her foresight. As for communications with our other allies, we will continue to use our encrypted channel and verify that it has not been hacked every six hours. I want someone to stay tuned in case Leman Drill, or anyone else who has escaped Naboo, can contact us."

"Unless the emissary is dead too," Cova Nell murmured.

Leia suddenly closed her eyes and tightened her grip on the pommel of her cane.

"General, are you all right?" asked Poe, who was now close to her.

"I'm fine, Dameron," she said, gesturing with her hand. "We need to inform Menken Jas, Girden A'Min and the other emissaries. We must send them a message urgently."

"I'll do it, General," Kaydel nodded. "By the way, we have finished decrypting the data that the alpha team collected in the Diyu complex."

"Brief us then, lieutenant," Leia asked.

Kaydel Ko Connix cleared her throat before starting.

"The First Order is building new weapons drawing their energy from kyber crystals apparently combined with an unknown mineral. The generators made in the complex were intended for them. Reports and internal communications records mention a slave delivery scheduled to take place in three days from various planets in Hutt space. It seems that the First Order has reached an agreement guaranteeing them free movement in the area controlled by those dirty brigands."

A hubbub arose around the table.

"Goodness! It's awful!" C-3PO exclaimed, unable to remain silent any longer.

"We must learn more about these weapons and do everything possible to prevent their construction," Leia said. "We must also tell all our contacts that they must keep us informed of any event taking place on the Hutt-controlled planets and …"

The rebel leader didn't finish her sentence. She tilted forward and caught herself at the last moment on the edge of the holocom.

"General!" shouted several rebels.

Poe rushed forward at the same time as Chewie to support her.

"It's nothing ... I ... I …" Leia stammered in a weak voice. Her legs weren't supporting her anymore.

"BB-8, go quickly to inform the infirmary!" C-3PO ordered.

Chewie carried Leia in his arms in the wake of the little white and orange droid.

"The meeting is over!" Poe yelled as he rushed down the corridor alongside d'Acy and C-3PO.

The whole room was in turmoil. Rey wanted to go out, but Finn blocked the way.

"It's better to let them take care of her for now," the former stormtrooper said.

The young woman wanted to protest but finally nodded and whispered in a shaking voice, "I hope she'll be ok" when Finn took her hand in his.

OooooO

Rey could hardly stand to wait an hour before she made her way down to the infirmary. In the corridor, she met Poe. His worried face had the scavenger imagining the worst.

"How is she?" she hastened to ask.

"She left the infirmary to return to her room. Mirzin says she just needs rest," Dameron sighed.

Rey knew that Leia was more than a superior for him. General Organa was more than that for every individual here, including herself. So she laid her hand on Poe's arm. The pilot looked up at her with kindness. He knew that their quarrel had to stop now.

"I'm going to talk to Mirzin," Rey announced before squeezing his arm a little more, and Poe accepted her implicit offer to finally bury the hatchet.

When the young woman arrived in Leia's room, the door was open and she saw that the blond nurse had placed a glass of water on the bedside table before turning down the light. The leader of the rebels was fast asleep and Rey stayed behind the threshold waiting for Mirzin to join her.

"She is very tired, physically and emotionally," the nurse told her. "Ever since the attack on the _Raddus_ and her brief stay in space, I've been observing her closely. But you know her, 'ease off' is not part of her vocabulary. But she is no longer twenty ... What her son has been doing for months at the head of the First Order is affecting her so much, more than she wants to show. Not to mention the repercussions of Han and Luke's deaths."

Rey's stomach tightened. Mirzin gave her a sad smile and then walked past her to disappear down the hall, leaving the young woman alone and hesitating in front of the open door. Finally, she decided to enter and stole in to sit at Leia's bedside. She remained motionless for a few minutes, silently contemplating her friend's calm breathing. She was the closest thing that Rey had to a mother. She admired her, respected her and could not imagine the Resistance without her. Yet the young woman also knew that General Organa was not immortal.

Rey noticed that Leia was holding a small digital tablet in her hand. She gently removed the object from her fingers and looked at the screen.

There was a picture of Luke, in his thirties, standing near the _Falcon_ with Han Solo and Chewie.

She scrolled through the other photos.

Leia and her brother sitting on a bench in a beautiful garden.

The general, smiling alongside a tall woman with purple hair.

The next one showed a very pregnant Leia. Han was kissing her cheek and his hand was resting on her round belly. They were both so young.

Rey felt tears come to her eyes.

She continued, and her hands began to shake when she saw Leia holding a beautiful baby with pink cheeks and chubby hands. His head was covered with fine black hair and he was looking at his mother with big curious eyes.

But it was the next picture that finally managed to make the tears spill out and run down over her cheeks: a toddler boy sat on Han Solo's lap, posed proudly in the cockpit of the _Millennium Falcon_. His ears were a little too big, and his childish face was adorned with a bright, carefree smile.

Rey had to put a hand on her mouth to suppress a sob. She placed the tablet on the chair and left the room in silence to return to her quarters.

OooooO

Ever since their meeting on Hoth, Rey had been unable to drive out of her mind the image of Ben, cornered and bleeding profusely on the frozen ground.

_What was he doing there? Why was he hurt? Who attacked him? Was she right to think that Hux was responsible for all this?_

All these questions had been swirling around in her head for the past four months.

No wonder Ben was aware of the location of former rebel bases. He was the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo. All his childhood, he had been lulled to sleep by bedtime stories of his parents' and uncle's adventures.

She almost wanted the Force to connect them again, just to get answers. But the Force remained deaf to her supplications, and the link stayed silent.

And yet, despite what had happened between them and despite what she still felt today, she should convinced herself, once and for all, that Kylo Ren, was the enemy to shoot down now.

Except she could not do it. She was unable to repress the guilty desire she felt every time she thought of his penetrating eyes devouring her through the veil of his dark locks.

She often dreamed of the shape of his face, the outline of his full lips and the plethora of moles drawing constellations on his cheek around his scar.

His deep voice had made her shiver at each meeting.

The sight of his strong, smooth torso had inflamed her cheeks on Ahch-To. When he had appeared half-naked in front of her, she'd just had time to realize that a gentle heat was building in her core before being assaulted by shame and remorse.

A tear slid down her temple again to get lost in her loose hair, and she sighed loudly.

The day had been long. She was tired.

Lying on her bunk, she wiped her eyes to drive away the tears and fatigue. Memories had left her no respite today.

_Where was Ben now? What was he doing ?_

Rey began to inhale and then slowly exhale, and after a few minutes, the atmosphere in her room changed suddenly. She sat bolt upright at the realization.

Her ears began to buzz slightly and she felt a familiar vibration right in her spinal cord. She had experienced it several times, on Luke's island... Her gaze went immediately to the left, and all of a sudden, he appeared.

Ben.

She stopped breathing. Besides, it seemed that all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. She did not even dare to move for fear that the massive figure would evaporate. She watched him silently.

Like her, he was visibly shocked to see her again.

His hair was longer, his skin tanner than in her memories. He was wearing a white linen tunic with an unbuttoned collar. He had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his forearms, and he was sitting on the other side of the table in the center of the room. The dark circles under his eyes had disappeared and his scar was now a thin line marring his cheek. He had a two or three days' stubble, making his face less hard, less imperious ...

He remained as rigid as she was and stared at her in amazement. Their unexpected connection had obviously disturbed him from what he was doing.

Rey looked down and saw that he was holding a screwdriver in his left hand and a sort of star-shaped metal piece in the right one. She noticed the strange symbol engraved on one of the faces of the object: a rhombus with a five-pointed star at its center. A trace of grease stained his forehead. He was fixing something.

_He was fixing something ..._

Rey's mind began to spin at full speed.

_The supreme leader of the first order did not make his own repairs. The supreme leader of the First Order possessed a whole swarm of technicians and mechanics to do it on the Finalizer. And above all, the Supreme Leader of the First Order spent most of his time in the cold and dark rooms of his destroyer, far from the sunlight, and he never wore white._

She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Too many things wanted to spill out at once.

Ben's breathing had accelerated. He could not take his eyes off Rey's face and gave the impression of contemplating a heavenly apparition. When she saw him take a deep breath, apparently preparing to be the first to speak, he suddenly turned his head to one side, frowned, and grumbled:

"Jawi nakmar tedo!"

He had just spoken to someone she did not see in a language unknown to her.

Then, he nodded and turned his attention back to her, apparently annoyed that she had witnessed the scene.

Then, still without a word, Rey slowly got up and walked around the table to approach him. She did not realize she was reaching her hand slightly in his direction. Her fingers were only a few inches from his arm when the connection suddenly broke.

The young woman was once again alone in the middle of the room.

Like a mirage in the middle of the desert, the body of Leia's son had disappeared, and Rey was overwhelmed by the unpleasant feeling of having lost a small part of herself.

OooooO

Rey was still struggling to calm the wave of excitement that had not left her since the connection. She had just spent an hour on the machine room console rummaging through the technical inventories of the parts suppliers, and she had finally found what she was looking for. The star-shaped piece she saw in Ben's hand was a moisture vaporizer connector. The young woman was familiar with these devices, having seen them scattered around Niima outpost. The star symbol corresponded to the manufacturer's logo. This one supplied only the planets of the Outer Rim. She then tumbled into the small break room like a tornado.

"C-3PO! I need you!" she exclaimed, stopping neatly in front of the golden robot that was as usual in full conversation with R2-D2.

"Oh, oh, but of course Miss Rey! How can I help you?"

"You're a protocol droid, right? You've been programmed to know hundreds of languages."

"I have! In fact, I have mastered more than six million forms of communication and …"

"Ok listen! Can you tell me what 'Jawi nakmar tedo' means?"

"Nothing easier ! It means 'I'll take the three connectors.'"

"Connectors," Rey repeated, looking satisfied.

It was hardly possible. She still could not believe it.

"C-3PO, what language is it?" she continued with haste.

R2-D2 turned his head and answered in place of his companion.

"Bip bup dip dap tutudud!"

"So now you are the specialist in linguistics?" exclaimed C-3PO.

"Bib tup dip wiz bup beep!"

"How is this language familiar to you? As far as I know, you do not have a translator built into ..."

"C-3PO! Please!" the scavenger cut him off, unable to restrain her eagerness any longer.

"Forgive me Miss Rey ... This dialect is used by the Jawa people who live on a planet of the Outer Rim called Tatooine."

OooooO


	13. CHAPTER 12

_Hi everybody ! Now it's Ben's turn ! Thank you for reading ! Let me reviews if you like it ! Please ! ;-))))_

**CHAPTER 12**

**Planet Tatooine- Arkanis Sector**

"Mum! Mum! He opened his eyes!"

A blazing pain tore his side. He had the impression of having cotton in his head instead of his brain. The sounds were muffled, distorted, and nausea turned his stomach.

_Was it the voice of a child he'd just heard?_

He wanted to bring a hand to his ribs but his arm seemed to weigh a ton. He was lying on his back, seemingly in a bed or a bunk. The air was hot and he was sweating profusely. He turned his head to the left and blinked several times: the orange jumpsuit he had worn on Hoth was lying on a chair by the door, stained with blood.

_It's my blood ..._

He realized that he was shirtless and his abdomen was bandaged. His black pants were gone too and he was only in underwear.

Gradually, everything came back to him: the betrayal of Hux and his knights, Elias revealing that he had been Snoke's apprentice too, his flight aboard the shuttle, his decision to go to one of the old abandoned rebel bases to try to find bacta ...

He heard footsteps now and a woman's silhouette, and then another, smaller one, appeared in the doorway.

"Stay behind me Shalim."

Kylo perceived a hint of apprehension in the female voice. His head was spinning. The bile was rising ever higher in his throat and he would have killed for a drop of water. When the image before him stopped shaking and came into focus, he discerned more clearly the features of a woman with auburn hair. She was rather young with gray eyes and a thin face, and she held a blaster directly at his head. Behind her, a boy of about ten years old stared at him intently.

He began to panic and tried to raise his hand to use the Force and disarm her. He could not.

"Go get a drink," she ordered, and the boy complied immediately.

He had trouble breathing. Sylla's dagger had perforated one of his lungs and, unfortunately for him, the bacta-serum he had injected himself with in the shuttle and the doses he'd found in the infirmary on Hoth were not enough to completely heal his wound. But he felt that the bacta-patch on his thigh was still in place.

_By all the stars of the galaxy ..._ He was really in bad condition.

Yet these strangers had brought him back here and took care of him.

_Why? Did they, at least, know who he was?_

In other circumstances, he would have rendered them unconscious with a snap of his fingers, searched the house for food and medicine and left.

"Do you understand me when I speak?" the woman asked. The barrel of her blaster was still pointing in his direction and Kylo nodded.

"Your ship crashed in the Jundland wastes. You were so lucky that my friend, Zed, and I were passing by there. He told me I was crazy to pick you up and take you home, so I hope you're not going to prove him right. You are seriously injured and you have a fever."

Shalim returned with a large glass of water and gave it to the woman. Before taking a step towards the bed, the latter put the weapon back in the little boy's hands who stared at her with dismay.

"I already showed you how to use it. If he tries anything, you shoot," she explained. "We are not yet sure whether he's a rebel or not."

_They thought he was a rebel?_

The realized why when his eyes landed again on the Resistance-symbol emblazoned jumpsuit.

He was apparently very lucky, because these people really didn't seem to like First Order supporters.

The flickering blaster was now pointing more towards the foot of the bed than towards his head. The child's brown curls fell in front of his eyes and the weapon seemed disproportionate between his nervous little fingers.

Despite his condition, Kylo noticed that the boy's irises were crystal green. His mother - or at least he guessed she was - knelt cautiously by the bed and gently passed her hand behind his head to help him up a little. He tensed instantly but let it go. She brought the glass of water to his lips and he drank so greedily that he nearly choked.

"Easy," she whispered, instinctively putting her palm on his forehead to brush back the few strands stuck with sweat and check his temperature.

It was undeniably the gesture of a mother. She must have been in her thirties at the most. Her fingers were cool against his skin and he could not help but close his eyes. The fleeting memory of Leia caressing his feverish cheek as a child crossed his mind.

He had lost a lot of blood and had to concentrate all the energy he had left on the regeneration of every fragment of damaged tissue. It had been an eternity since he'd used the healing power of the Force on his own body. Luke had taught him how to do it, but when he was with Snoke, the First Order's surgeon droids and medical staff had always been the ones to get him back on his feet.

Suddenly, he felt sucked into the void and struggled to maintain consciousness.

"You're burning up. We're almost out of our stock of bacta, I'm sorry. I'm going to prepare a special herbal tea to help you fight the fever. But first of all I need to ask you something. Are you part of the Resistance?" she let out, holding her breath.

He lied scrupulously, nodding his head one more time. Then he closed his eyes before his body relaxed completely on the mattress of his bunk. When he heard the woman get up and walk out of the room followed by the footsteps of her son, he gathered his last strength to stay alive a little longer.

OooooO

_**He was running in the meadow. His lungs were on fire when he arrived in the small grove. He went to hide under the big tree trunk near the Shaak*-shaped rock. He then tried to slow his breathing and stay quiet. It was difficult because he was already hearing Aedan coming towards him, grumbling as usual.**_

"_**It's not funny Ben! My mother said: not outside the garden! We'll get in trouble, and it'll be all your fault!"**_

_**He put both his hands on his mouth to stifle a giggle. He loved to make Aedan mad. His nurse's nephew came from time to time to visit him in the large house which his mother and he occupied not far from the palace. The two boys got along pretty well and enjoyed playing together. When Aedan was with him, the voice in his head was silent ...**_

_**They were both the same age and had the same brown and ruffled hair. They could almost be mistaken for brothers, except that his friend's eyes were as green as the chrysoprases that could be found in the gem quarries on the south of Theed. The days on Naboo in this season were peaceful and sunny. His mother was stuck on Coruscant and his father was moping on edge of the galaxy, so he savored the moments spent with Aedan and forgot that he was still "the one left behind."**_

"_**Ben! Come on! Show yourself!"**_

_**Aedan was getting closer. He was going to find him. He crouched a little deeper in his hole and waited without moving. But suddenly he heard nothing more. Not the slightest sound. As if the forest had frozen. Not a single bird song, nor the sound of the wind in the leaves ... He raised his head a little to look through one of the gaps in the bark when a hand fell on his arm.**_

He jumped violently and nearly fell off the bunk. When he raised his head, two sparkling jade orbs stared at him candidly, and a small hand shook his bicep.

"Mum asked me to wake you up. She prepared something for you to eat. You have to regain strength if you want to heal."

The thin voice of the child brought him back to the real world. For a few seconds, the face of his dream was superimposed with the one of the child standing in front of him. He rubbed his eyes painfully, saw the glass of water on the small table near the bed and found that he was now able to lift his arm to grab it.

"Mom told me you are a pilot in the Resistance. Is that true?" Shalim asked.

Kylo emptied the contents of his glass without answering. His fever had fallen and the pain was less intense than the day before. Or was it two days ago? He realized then that he did not know how long he had been unconscious. All he knew was that he felt much better.

"Are you a good pilot? Do you have an _X-wing_ fighter?"

The questions continued, jumbling together, and Kylo's jaw tightened. The auburn-haired woman then entered the room and cast a dark look at her son. She wore a simple beige linen dress cinched at the waist with a thin leather thong, and she held in her hands a pile of clothes of the same style.

"Shalim, leave him alone, will you? Go check C-3TB's arm. You must have done it yesterday!"

"But muuuuuum!"

"Shalim ..."

The little boy began to pout and left the room, dragging his feet.

If Kylo had no desire to sympathize with the boy, he was aware that he could not do without a minimum of communication with his mother. He straightened up on the bunk and leaned against the wall before asking hoarsely:

"How long have I been here?"

"You've had a fever for two days," she said, putting the clothes down at the end of the bed. "You were confused and asked for 'Ray' several times. Maybe you want to contact this man to tell him that you are here? If he's one of your Resistance friends, I can try …"

"Rey is a girl," he corrected.

He had no idea why he felt compelled to say that. He swallowed hard and added:

"I can't contact anyone and no one should know that I am here. It's too dangerous."

He was struggling to hide his discomfort and began to fidget feverishly on the bunk.

_What was he still doing there? He had to leave immediately now that he was in a position to do so. He had to get away from these people before they could find out who he really was, and he had to find his shuttle._

"My name is Sovan Real. You are on our farm. Can I at least know what your name is?"

She had her back turned and was preparing a new lot of bandages. She probably wanted to change those which had covered his wounds for two days now. The small voice in Kylo's head continued to whisper that he had to flee. This time, it was not Snoke's voice ... just his.

_You must kill them. They will find out who you are. This woman asks too many questions. Get out of here…_

Ren looked down to try to hide his annoyance.

"Where is my ship?"

"As I told you two days ago, you crashed in the Jundland Wastes, further east. Your shuttle is probably in spare parts right now, being resold by the Jawas in Mos Eisley. But Zed and I recovered your belongings."

She pointed to the big metal suitcase propped up against the wall. Kylo had not even noticed it before. He let out a sigh of relief, immediately followed by a sidelong glance at Sovan.

The latter seemed to understand what was bothering Ren and stammered quickly, "I didn't look at what was inside!"

The boy then burst into the room, shouting: "Mom, a message from the First Order is about to be broadcast!"

Kylo stared at the child for a few seconds and then tried to get up despite Sovan's protests. He was still in his underwear and hesitated a moment to completely remove the sheet that covered the lower part of his body. Her hostess's cheeks flushed a little, pointing to the pile of folded laundry she had left on the bed a few minutes earlier.

"Sorry, but I had to take off your clothes because they were full of blood. These are clean. They belonged to my husband. They may be a little bit tight because you are ... Well, you're really very tall."

But Kylo was not listening to her anymore. He put on the trousers and the light cotton shirt, and darted out of the room to find himself in the next room that served as a living room. Shalim was already standing in front of the wall-mounted monitor, while Sovan grumbled that her work in stitching him up was going to be ruined if Ren kept moving like this. He clenched his teeth as he sat down at the big table and the video started.

A black silhouette wearing a mask appeared on the screen.

_His mask._

General Hux was here too, his face triumphant and his hands crossed behind his back. In the background, several squadrons of stormtroopers were lined up in close ranks.

The voice distorted by the modulator of the helmet announced the advent of a new era. As Supreme Leader, he, Kylo Ren, ensured that the First Order would introduce discipline and rigor into all planetary systems and that any opponent would be ruthlessly eliminated. The speech lasted several minutes and ended with the rallying cry of the troops who saluted their leader by raising their fists.

Kylo's lips began to shake and the top of his left cheek flinched slightly.

So Elias was pretending to be him with the complicity of Hux.

Ren felt a wave of irrepressible fury rise to his throat.

_I'll make them pay for what they did to me._

His hands resting flat on the table, he thought back to the flood of destructive lightning he had managed to create during his clash with his former companions on the _Finalizer,_ and imagined the smoking and charred carcasses of his enemies at his feet.

_You are going to crush all these bloody traitors, without exception, make them suffer and ..._

The violent pain in his side suddenly woke up and he had to grab the edge of the table tightly, gritting his teeth so as not to moan. Sovan rushed to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You should go back to lie down, please …"

The harsh reality came down on him and instantly defeated his rage. He was stuck on Tatooine, in a hydroponic farmhouse lost in the middle of the desert, held by a woman and her son who thought he was a member of the Resistance. Hux and his knights had made the whole galaxy believe that he still led the First Order, and surely they were still actively searching for him to kill him. He was weak, hurt both physically and in his pride, and leaving this planet now to try to regain power was madness.

He had never been a reasonable man, yet today, common sense dictated that he should keep a low profile and accept the situation.

He hated heat and sand. Kylo had often repeated that when Hux and he were still under Snoke's orders. Elias knew it too, just as he knew that Kylo hated everything related to his uncle. So he had bet on the fact that these two vermin would never think to come and get him on Tatooine.

The other positive point was that the Hutts had not returned to this planet since the death of Jabba** and, to his knowledge, no faction of the Resistance was established here.

So after Hoth, he had chosen to come here to Tatooine to recover from his wounds and take time to decide what he would do next.

Plus, he was lucky. This family offered him hospitality and he had to enjoy it.

"Listen," added Sovan, "I don't know what happened and I'm just trying to believe you, but …"

_Come on, make an effort, you need them ..._

"I can't say anything except that my mission went wrong. The less you know, the better. The First Order is searching for me and I can't contact my base at this time. Nobody should know that I am here," Kylo replied.

He had spoken harshly, but Shalim had listened to him with an open mouth and stars in her eyes.

"You can stay here as long as you want," Sovan assured him.

Then the young woman told him she'd been living alone with her son ever since the death of her husband when Shalim was still a baby. Both managed to run the farm with the help of several droids, as well as help from Zed and his wife Blys, who lived on another farm several miles away from Mos Eisley. Kylo wondered if Zed's farm was the one that had once belonged to the Lars family and in which Luke had grown up.

"I'm not going to impose myself on you for too long, I just need enough time to recover," he said.

Sovan gave him a shy nod and headed for the kitchen. Kylo took the opportunity to briefly look into her mind. What he read there didn't surprise him in the least: she thought the was gruff and unfriendly.

_Did this woman really think that all rebels were good Samaritans?_

Kylo heard her working behind him as Shalim began setting the table.

"Ok, but if you have to stay a few more days with us, is it possible to finally know your name, or is it also top secret information?" asked the young woman.

Kylo met the gaze of the boy who was struggling to hide his excitement on knowing that the mysterious stranger was going to spend some more time with them. A strange feeling invaded him. No one had ever looked at him like that.

_The child is happy that I'm staying ..._

The confusion he felt only lasted a few seconds.

"No, it's not a secret," he answered.

And when he stared again at Shalim and his big green eyes, Kylo added:

"My name is Aedan."

OooooO

"Hello Aedan! The provisions are in the kitchen, wait a minute, I'll get them," Sovan announced.

He quietly waited in the small inner courtyard dug out of the arid soil until the young widow returned. As in all hydroponic farms on Tatooine, the various underground cavities acting as rooms were connected by tunnels, all around the central patio. The greenhouses were buried too.

It was impossible to grow anything on the surface of this arid and inhospitable planet.

When Kylo was a padawan, Luke had briefly mentioned Anakin Skywalker's home planet and told a few anecdotes about his life in Owen Lars' farm located several dozen kilometers to the south-east, near Anchorhead. Now it was Zed's property.

Kylo turned his head to the EG-6 droid that was working on the electrostatic repeller in the middle of the yard. It had been two weeks since he was stranded on Tatooine.

When Sovan drove him to the spot where he had landed, Kylo found that the young woman was right: his damaged shuttle had been sacked and completely dismantled. He'd only been able to recover some spare things left intact in one of the lower drawers of the ship. Luckily, Sovan had had the good idea to pack up his precious briefcase containing nearly a million galactic credits, his lightsaber and two or three little things stolen from the _Supremacy_'s labs.

A door to his right opened abruptly and Shalim ran out to come and stand in front of him. The boy had a big smile on his face.

"Will you stay with us today, Aedan?" the child asked with a hopeful tone.

Kylo suppressed a grunt of exasperation.

"No. I just came looking for food."

His tone was harsh, as it was every time he spoke to Shalim. But the more Kylo was unsociable and contemptuous, the more the kid seemed to cling to him. In the same way, his mother was always gentle, caring and kind. It was incomprehensible ... and destabilizing. So he had felt the need to get away from these people.

When Kylo had mentioned the existence of a cabin in the canyon not far from the farm, Sovan had confirmed that there was a small house that had been abandoned for decades on the edge of the territory controlled by the Tuskens. Kylo didn't know if she was aware that this was the place where Obi-Wan Kenobi had lived during his exile on Tatooine. She'd looked worried when Kylo had said he wanted to go to the cottage and settle in there instead of staying with her and her son.

He had given the widow enough galactic credits to cover the costs of providing him with food and basic necessities for several months. Even if Sovan had wanted to ask him where all the money came from, she had abstained. She had also negotiated for him a new landspeeder in Mos Eisley, which he was using to travel between Obi-Wan's house and the farm when he had to pick something up from her. He hated to depend so much on Sovan, but it was too risky for him to show up in town.

So he lived in this little hut now, in the middle of the canyon bordering the Jundland desert.

When he had arrived in front of the cabin, only the white dome of the main room was still visible. He had used the Force to clear the rest of the house of the huge amount of sand that had gradually buried the building over the years. The interior had remained intact, and the generator and recycling and drinking water systems were still operational. The rooms were modest but functional. It was the perfect place to lie low and let things settle down a bit.

He could leave whenever he wanted to. All he had to do was go to Bestine or Mos Eisley, steal a shuttle, or use his power to force a pilot to surrender his ship.

The question was: to go where? And to do what next?

He had no ally, no army. If he landed on the _Finalizer _now, even if he told everyone that Hux and his Knights had seized power in a coup, he was convinced that the troops would take their side.

He was deadlocked.

So, on the first day in the cabin, he had taken out his frustration and annoyance on the furniture. Two chairs and a good part of the dishes had been smashed on the floor in the middle of the living room.

He had nothing else to do in this hellhole other than brooding over his future vengeance against Hux and Elias.

So he had started exploring the area around the cabin.

He had once happened upon a squad of Tuskens patrolling the canyon. He had watched them from afar, hidden behind a rock, wondering if Sovan and her son knew that these creatures came so close, and if they could defend themselves in case of an attack. Then he'd convinced himself that it did not matter if the woman and the child died. It would just be unfortunate, because then he'd lose his one and only means of supply.

When he finally got tired of walking around, he resigned himself to repairing the chairs, spending time working in the shed under the house, and he began to meditate again. His fits of rage eventually calmed down, mainly because he realized that he couldn't live without furniture and dishes.

He was still waiting in the middle of the sun-drenched courtyard when Sovan came back with a basket full of food, clean linen, and toiletries. She handed it to him with a smile, and Kylo could not help but notice the brief spark that illuminated the young woman's eyes when he grabbed the handle and their fingers brushed against each other.

OoooooO

He had been there for a month now but felt like years. His anger had given way to a certain apathy, to a strangely soothing boredom, and he even found a form of serenity in the daily routine: he rose with the sun and spent one or two hours meditating before training with his lightsaber and then eating a light snack. Afterwards he'd read a bit, look after the various equipment in the cabin, or visit the Reals. In the evening, he'd have dinner and stroll under the starry sky before going to bed.

Who would have thought that one day, Kylo Ren would take pleasure in strolling, his head in the stars?

Ever since he was a child, his nights had always been restless, but his nightmares had never been so vivid and frequent as they were here. He suspected the day-to-day monotony of causing his brain to go into overdrive during his sleep hours. His old master was no longer the main protagonist of his dreams, but something worse had slipped into his head in the place of the old man's stony and venomous voice: remorse.

He was waking in the middle of the night, sweaty, with the burn of Han's fingers on his cheek. He was hearing Luke's calm and solemn voice reminding him that everything he had done would haunt him forever. The screams of the innocent slaughtered by his fault were deafening and he had the impression of feeling the metallic taste of blood on his tongue. Sovan was standing in front of him, frightened and hugging her son close to her, but it was Leia's voice coming out of her mouth when she shouted at him that he was nothing more than a contemptible man who did not deserve to live.

And Rey ...

She was here too in all his dreams, looking at him with disgust.

He felt a heavy weight of hopelessness and despair. He was alone. He had always been. And he had been totally crazy to believe that his situation could change one day.

This morning, when he arrived at the farm, he was surprised not to be greeted by Shalim as usual. He first descended the stairs leading to the small courtyard and then headed for the kitchen where he thought he would find Sovan. But there was no one there either. He then took a shortcut through one of the side tunnels to access the main greenhouse. He crossed several droids bustling around the columns filled with mushrooms in full growth before seeing the young woman rummaging in one of the control panels at the back of the room.

She jumped when she finally perceived his presence close to her.

"Hey!" she said, hastily wiping her chin covered with dust.

Kylo watched her, his face impenetrable. He was not stupid. No need to look into the young widow's mind to feel the desire he awoke in her every time he spoke to her or looked her straight in the eyes.

She was young, lived alone with her son, and her husband had been dead for several years. He saw in her a mixture of repressed desire, guilt and deep sadness. Although she always put on a brave face in front of him, the wounds of her heart were deep and she did not know how to handle this flood of new emotions that she thought she'd never feel again. Kylo didn't know if he should be flattered or if he should pity her. But he was certain of one thing now: he didn't want any harm to befall them anymore, her and her son.

He bit his lower lip before asking in a neutral and detached tone: "A problem?"

Sovan let out a stifled sigh.

"The refrigeration system has just broken down. If I don't manage to restart it very quickly, we risk losing a lot of the crop. In addition, I must also check the alarm system because the Tuskens become more reckless before the harvests. Two seasons ago, Zed was attacked and they stole all his production."

Kylo knew very well that the harvest was near but the maturation of the mushrooms was not over yet. Without regulation of the temperature in the greenhouses, the farmers could lose everything.

"Where is Shalim?" he said, looking for the child.

"He's in the second greenhouse with C-3TB, checking the nutrient supply system."

Ren looked into Sovan's desperate gray eyes. The greenhouse was underground but thin openings in the ceiling and a clever arrangement of mirrors allowed some sunlight to intrude into the basement to illuminate the aisles between rows of crops. The young woman was standing in one of the light beams. She wore beige cotton trousers, a draped top, and blond leather cuffs. Her outfit reminded Kylo of the one worn by Rey when she arrived on the _Supremacy._

_Was there really a particular fashion common to all the desert planets of the galaxy?_

The soft light accentuated the coppery highlights of Sovan's hair. The latter froze and her cheeks flushed as she saw that Kylo detailed her from head to toe.

Realizing that his shuffling look could be misinterpreted, he suddenly launched a "let me see this" as he passed in front of her to examine the control panel.

After a good half-hour of adjustments and more or less successful connection attempts, the cooling system started again.

Sovan could not suppress a little cry of joy. She grabbed Kylo's hand to hold it in hers before realizing that Kylo had just frozen on the spot. The expression of deep malaise displayed on Ren's face got the better of the young woman's excitement. She released him promptly and cleared her throat.

"Thank you," she said then to fill the embarrassed silence that had just settled between them.

Kylo replied with a simple shake of the head.

OoooooO

"Are you going to call your friend Rey to pick you up?"

Shalim was sitting next to Kylo in front of the big table, on which was spread the mechanical arm of one of the droids.

_Did this kid stop ever stop?_

Every day, for the last three months now, he had been subjected to a thorough interrogation. The little boy was a real chatterbox. He was constantly asking questions about the other members of the Resistance, about the battles Kylo had won, and about future Rebel plans against the First Order. Kylo sighed with annoyance and ended up lying to try to silence him.

"You told mom she was a girl ... Is she your girlfriend?"

The tool that Kylo held in his right hand escaped him and fell to the ground.

"No," he retorted curtly, stooping to avoid the piercing green eyes of the child and to pick up the tool at his feet.

"Is she pretty? Is she a pilot like you?"

_By all the suns in the galaxy, he was really going to kill that brat ..._

Kylo had quickly given up staying in Obi-Wan's hut all day long and was spending most of his time on the farm helping Sovan and her son prepare for the harvest. The day before, the young widow had returned from Mos Eisley to inform him that several merchants had landed in the city. Maybe he could ask one of them to take him wherever he wished to go?

_To leave, yes ... But the same question always arose: to go where?_

In any case, he was sure of one thing: he was going to take his revenge. Only the conditions remained to be defined.

"My mom is pretty too, isn't she?"

Kylo did not have time to come up with an answer because Sovan's voice sounded from the kitchen on the other side of the yard.

"Food's ready!"

The little boy frowned and grumbled before getting off his stool and leaving the shed. Kylo let out a sigh of relief, stowed his tools and followed him.

A delicious smell of stew reached his nostrils when he stuck his head through the door to announce that he was returning to the cabin and that he would come back tomorrow to finish repairing the droid.

"I've cooked double the amount of food that we need," Sovan announced. "Maybe you can stay here with us?"

The little voice in his head was screaming that it was not a good idea but, betrayed by the unexpected gurgling of his stomach, he finally resigned himself to accepting. And he did not regret it – the young woman's cooking was a delight. During the meal, he silently observed Sovan and Shalim laughing and chatting without a care in the world. The little boy continued to babble and his mother listened with wonder and tenderness.

These people had almost nothing and yet they seemed happy just because they were together and they loved each other deeply. They had welcomed him, a stranger fallen from the sky. They had taken care of him, fed him and helped him for months without asking anything in return.

A feeling of uneasiness suddenly rose inside of him. It was not the first time he'd felt that. These people were awakening in him things that he wanted to repress at all costs, and he was having more and more difficulty as he was confronted with all of this: benevolence, respect, compassion ...

_That damn compassion ..._

He had even had to admit that, somewhere, he admired their courage and their determination to keep their farm afloat, day after day, and all the hard work they were doing to survive on this barren land.

_He was letting himself be moved ..._

And that was something he could not afford. He was still Kylo Ren, heir to the Dark Side.

His fork froze a few inches from his mouth. He was out of place here. He had nothing to do in this house. These people were going to make him weak and he might taint them with his darkness.

He slammed the cutlery violently down on the table and startled the boy and his mother. Their radiant smiles deserted their faces.

"I have to go. Thanks for the meal," Kylo stammered, getting up hurriedly.

He went out without turning around and straddled his speeder to go back to Obi-Wan's hut.

At the entrance of the small canyon, while the twin suns of Tatooine were about to disappear on the horizon, his attention was drawn to the remains of several fireplaces smoking at the foot of one of the steep walls. At the moment, it didn't worry him too much. He had heard Zed tell Sovan via the holocom that the Tuskens had been spotted near the Motesta Oasis about forty kilometers to the southeast. They were very far away. These extinguished fires were surely the remnants of a Jawa encampment.

When he arrived, he parked his speeder under the shelter next to the house, entered the cottage and headed for the small bathroom. Hands resting on each side of the sink, he gazed at his reflection in the mirror before sighing. Sovan had given him her husband's razor but he had not shaved this morning. He made the water flow and splashed his face several times.

He didn't know why, but something was wrong.

An alarm had been sounding in his head since he'd crossed the threshold of the cabin and he was desperately trying to understand why.

Then he closed his eyes and concentrated, letting the Force flow through every fiber of his being. The immaterial fluid passed through him like a warm, vibrant breath, the air suddenly became denser around him, and the hairs on his arms bristled. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and turned sharply to enter the living room.

Here, the luminescent silhouette of his uncle was standing near the table.

_Kriff…_

Luke was the last person he wanted to see right now.

He was about to scream at him unceremoniously when the old man said in a deep voice:

"They need you, Ben."

Kylo inhaled deeply. The Force suddenly sent him warning signals so powerful that he could not ignore them. Luke was right. Sovan and Shalim were in danger.

Yet something kept him from acting. Resentment. The spirit of stubbornness. He was ready to stay here without doing anything just to upset Luke. Everyone considered him awful, right? So why should he care about two insignificant farmers whom he was only using to improve his life on this damn planet? Why come to the aid of this mother and her son who had opened their house and cared for him? Why act as a human being when he was actually a monster?

"Ben …"

Luke's pleading tone suddenly shook his determination, and he did his best not to let out a cry of rage when his uncle's ghostly figure faded away, leaving him alone and panting in the middle of the cabin.

The Force was screaming now. He realized he could not ignore it anymore. He rushed straight to the chest in the corner of the room and took out his lightsaber. Seconds later, he was riding his speeder back to the Reals' farm.

When he arrived near the house, a dozen Tuskens had already begun to ransack the shed and the first greenhouse. They had managed to get through the security systems which had been installed around the property precisely to detect looters of their species. Sovan was lying in the middle of the courtyard, unconscious. She had been stabbed several times in the stomach, and Shalim was nowhere to be seen. As he advanced to join her, Kylo neutralized five assailants using his weapon and the Force. The remaining five flung themselves on him in turn and were slain too. Surrounded by the corpses of the Tuskens, Ren knelt beside Sovan to see that she was still alive. He called Shalim, who finally came out of his hiding place in the back of the shed, and the boy, still in shock, followed him sobbing while Kylo carried his mother to the bedroom. Kylo injected the woman with the last dose of Bacta and dressed her wounds as best as he could. Shalim was watching him without a word, his eyes empty and desperate. Sovan needed specialized medical care or she would die. His face covered with tears, Shalim stared at him with his big green eyes.

"You ... You're a Jedi ... I saw how you fought the Tuskens. Please, help us."

But Shalim was wrong. He was not a Jedi. He was in fact the opposite of what the followers of the Light Side represented. But, without hesitation, he lifted Sovan's body, laid the young woman beside her son in their airspeeder, and rushed straight for Bestine.

He burst into the small first aid station in the North Quarter, shattering the door with a thought. The place was shabby and dusty. There were no hospitals in Bestine, just places like this one, run by shopkeepers once in the service of the Hutts who were now becoming "health center" managers.

From the counter in the back of the room, a bald man with a mock medical coat pointed a laser rifle at him.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" he shouted.

Kylo disarmed him with a nod and dropped Sovan on a stretcher parked against the wall. Shalim followed him, almost clinging to his leg. The bald man, suddenly empty-handed, gasped in surprise and was about to scream when Kylo reached for him.

"You will order all your medical droids to take care of her. If she dies, you die."

The guy nodded and pressed a button under the counter. Four wretched humanoid robots emerged from the next room to pick up the stretcher on which Sovan lay. Through the filthy window that separated the hall from the treatment room, Shalim and Kylo watched as the robots worked on the young woman. The little boy sniffed loudly while wiping his wet cheeks. He slipped his little hand into Kylo's.

After two hours of waiting, Shalim had fallen asleep, curled up on the small wooden bench in the hall. Kylo had remained standing, still motionless in front of the bay window. Sovan's condition was stable. The bald man was standing behind his counter and still seemed to be in shock.

"I must be paid," he stuttered.

"I'll pay," Kylo retorted coldly, not even glancing at him.

But all of a sudden, the dispensary door opened and three men entered. The noise awoke the little boy. The bald man froze again and his face became even more discomposed. Kylo turned his head towards the newcomers and frowned. These visitors were going to be a problem, there was no doubt about it. They had bloodshot eyes and their bodies were twitching nervously. They were all looking for drugs, and seemed angry to find Kylo and the child at this time in the usually empty clinic.

"Zilog, what are they doing here?" asked the taller man with a white mohawk and tattoos on his cheeks. "You know that I hate running into strangers when I come to get my goods. It makes me irritable. And when I'm irritable, I do unpleasant things."

The bald man, visibly panicked, raised his hands in front of him, stammering.

"Listen, A'Shek, they burst in out of nowhere! I couldn't do anything about it!"

White mohawk guy's friends drew their blasters. The first one, a short, stocky man with a beard reaching his navel, pointed his gun at Kylo. The other, a tall, extremely thin man with blackened teeth, aimed at Zilog behind the counter.

"You! Step back, slowly!" A'Shek shouted at Ren.

Shalim was watching Kylo with scared eyes. So he took a last look at Sovan's sleeping figure on the other side of the window and grabbed the lightsaber he had stored in his belt.

OooooO

Zilog never received his money. During the clash with the three drug addicts, a blaster shot had pierced his skull. Ren quickly dispatched of the stocky bearded man, while A'Shek and his white mohawk fled screaming into the maze of neighborhood streets, his back lacerated by Kylo's lightsaber.

When the droids had finished bandaging Sovan's wounds, Kylo picked up several doses of bacta and took the young mother and her son back to the farm.

He had spent the whole week with Shalim while Sovan regained his strength, bedridden in her room.

The harvest was coming up in two days and one of the moisture vaporizers had stopped working once again. Kylo was in the shed trying to fix it but he was missing an important piece that a Jawa tribe would bring him in a few hours.

Since the attack of the Tuskens, Shalim had not left him for even one minute. The interest of the child had turned to adoration.

"Aedan ... Can I see your lightsaber when I finish cleaning C-3TB?"

The big green eyes had been watching him disassemble the generator for thirty minutes now.

"No," Kylo grumbled, trying to ignore him as always.

He could have used his powers to force the boy to forget their misadventure at the clinic. He still wondered why he had not done it.

"Were you beaten by another Jedi or by the soldiers of the First Order, is that you why you've got that scar on your face? Did it hurt a lot?"

_And the questions just kept coming…_

"Is it true that you can move objects with your mind? Mom told me Jedi Knights could float a lot of things just by moving their fingers. I saw how you took away that bad guy's weapon at the clinic. Can you show me again?"

Kylo finally raised his head. He had just heard the sound of a motor outside.

"Can your saber change color? Why is it red?" Shalim continued.

Kylo sighed as he closed his eyes.

"Why do you never answer me?" the little boy sulked, frowning.

"The Jawas are here. Go and greet them and tell their leader to bring me the part here," Ren ordered. "And stop talking about all that. I told you it must be a secret between us."

Shalim complied without complaining. Kylo heard the little creatures chatter as they came down the stairs toward shed.

But suddenly, the air around him became more compact and began to vibrate. Kylo immediately recognized the familiar cocoon created by the Force to announce that the link was about to open.

And then the silhouette of Rey appeared in the middle of the shed.

Stunned, he stared at her silently.

She had not changed. She was even more beautiful than in his memories. She stared at him with her big hazel eyes, star-studded with green, and seemed as astonished as he, if not more.

Kylo's pulse quickened and he was convinced that Rey could hear the beating of his heart as it drummed hard against his ribs. Then, without really knowing what to say, he opened his mouth to speak, but it was at this moment that he perceived the gestures of the Jawa chief brandishing a lot of connectors on his left. The creature was asking Shalim if Kylo had a problem. He could not ignore the scrap dealer any longer.

"Jawi nakmar tedo," he grumbled at the creature, nodding his head.

The jawa put the devices on the workbench, raised his hands to the sky to signal his discontent, and left grumbling, escorted by Shalim. When Kylo turned his attention to Rey, he saw her move to walk toward him, her hand outstretched, and he realized that she intended to touch him. But all of a sudden, the connection stopped.

_No no no no…_

Kylo stood abruptly from his stool to find himself alone and panting in the middle of the room. His blood was no longer pulsating against his temples, and he wondered if his heart had stopped beating. The anger returned in full force before being immediately replaced by despair and regret. The link had just closed, and he was already missing the soft, soothing light that emanated from Rey. His body shuddered and he felt the cold pierce his bones. He wondered how he would ever manage to live with the immeasurable void of her absence in his chest.

OooooO


	14. CHAPTER 13

_Thank you so much for the readers who clicked on « favorite story » for my fic ! But wow... ONE REVIEW ? Is my story that bad? :-((((((_

**Base Haven-Planet Arbra:**

"He is on Tatooine."

Leia stared at the young woman with astonishment. Lying in bed, the general was still tired-looking. Mirzin had specifically ordered that she not be disturbed, but Rey couldn't have waited any longer to tell her what she had discovered.

Her voice filled with emotion, the Resistance leader asked, "Has the bond opened again? How can you be sure he is there?"

Rey told her how she knew that he was on the desert planet, probably on a hydroponic farm.

So it could not be him, on the videos. Her intuition was good. And Rey saw hope gradually reborn in the tired eyes of the general.

Despite all that her son had done, she was still a mother. She was crumbling under the weight of guilt but Rey could feel the love rooted deep in her heart.

The young woman swallowed hard, thinking back to her own parents selling her to Plutt when she was only five years old. Before the emotion overwhelmed her, she drove out of her mind the image of the great gray ship moving away into Jakku's sky.

"I knew something was wrong. I don't know what happened in the First Order, but your son is no longer among them. Someone's pretending to be him. Surely one of the other Knights of Ren."

Leia looked up at Rey. Now, different scenarios were being considered in her tactician's brain. The hypothesis of a coup led by Hux was no longer so insane. The soldier must indeed have allied himself with the Sith knights to seize power. But her son had managed to escape.

"If Hux wants him dead and his followers have turned against him, he has no choice but to hide somewhere," Rey supposed. "I'm sure they're searching for him to finish what they started."

"Curious choice of planet," Leia smiled sadly.

Rey waited with bated breath as the general resumed in a more solemn tone.

"It could be a trap."

Of course Rey knew it was more than a possibility and the two women continued weighing the pros and cons for several long minutes.

"And during these four months, Hux has hidden the fact of my son's defection, and is pretending that he's still at the head of the First Order by broadcasting these videos?" Leia murmured.

Rey nodded to let Leia know that she really believed in this version of events. She could tell that the princess really wanted to believe it too, but felt that she should think like a leader first.

"What are we going to do?" Rey asked anxiously.

If Leia decided to inform the others, Ben's fate was sealed. Poe was going to propose going to Tatooine with men and heavy artillery to try to capture a weakened and isolated Kylo Ren, and the rest of the Resistance would obviously agree with him.

_This should not happen to Ben Solo._

The young woman stared at her feet with a sigh.

"Rey, nobody wants more than I do to believe that he can come back to the Light, but I can't ignore the little voice in my head shouting at me that this is probably an ambush: Ben waiting patiently on Tatooine, your connection opening right now when we have just inflicted a severe blow to the First Order on Diyu …"

Leia put two fingers under Rey's chin and forced her to lift her head. The two women looked at each other in silence for a few seconds and the general gave her a sad smile again.

"You want to go find him, don't you?"

Rey was caught off guard. Perhaps Leia really was able to read thoughts, just like her son.

"No, I…"

Leia narrowed her lips and frowned. Rey realized then that denial was useless.

"Ok," she capitulated. "I have to go on Tatooine. And I have to go alone. The others don't need to know. They wouldn't understand. I go there with a shuttle and I get to the bottom of it. I just need an excuse to justify my departure. A delicate and secret mission? A meeting with new potential allies? I trust you to find something convincing."

"Rey …" Leia protested.

"If it's a trap, too bad for me. You know that I would die rather than betray you all. We must have confirmation that the First Order is now led by Hux and these dark side knights. And if Ben is there, I would be the only one able to reach him and you know it."

"Why don't you wait to see if the Force connects you again? Can't you ask him what happened with Hux while staying safe here?"

"I don't control the link any more now than I did four months ago."

Leia was considering all that Rey had said, and the young woman felt that the general was about to give way.

"He will not welcome you with open arms," she said. "He may even try to kill you."

"I've stood up to him more than once," Rey retorted firmly. "I am as strong as him. And, I really need to know …"

Rey noticed that Leia's eyes had become more and more shiny.

"... and I think you need to know too," the scavenger added.

When the general closed her eyelids with a sigh, Rey knew she had won. The old woman took a deep breath before announcing:

"You take the _Millennium Falcon_, not a shuttle. You want all the odds to be in your favor if you have to defend yourself or escape, and this afternoon Rose installed a jammer that neutralizes the First Order hyperspace trackers. I will ask that the ship be prepared quickly and I'll have Chewie stay away from the hangar during this time. Will you be able to pilot it alone?"

"Yes, I'm positive that I can."

"Good. You also take R2-D2 and C-3PO with you. If Ben is on a hydroponic farm - and I suspect he did not decide to visit Tatooine randomly - he may have thought about going where Luke spent his childhood."

"I thought about that too."

"The droids know the planet well. They will help you. Leave tonight. I'll figure out what to say to others."

Rey stood up while keeping Leia's hand tightly in hers. Then, with a natural gesture, she bent to kiss her cheek. The general was worried. Rey saw it well.

"Be careful, my child. May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you too, Leia."

OoooooO

**Planet Tatooine- Outer Rim:**

Rey stopped her speeder in front of the small white dome that rose out of the ground in the middle of the vaporizer field. She took off her goggles, untied her turban, and shed the rest of her gear. Then, tightening her fingers around the handle of her staff, she walked the few steps leading to the small front door.

The heat was stifling. Walking through the arid expanses of Tatooine had reminded her of how much she hated the desert. If Jakku was mainly covered with dunes, here the rocky reliefs alternated with sand hills carved by the continual caress of the wind. Moreover, since she had left the _Falcon_ stationed two kilometers away, the latter seemed to have picked up. She wiped off the sweat covering her forehead, then the dust stuck to her cheeks, and put her palm on the little box near the door. A beep warned her that her presence had just been reported to the occupants of the farm.

After a moment, the face of a blond man with curly hair appeared on the small screen near the box.

"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked in an unfriendly tone.

"Hello…"

Rey had not really thought about what tactics to adopt. Playing the honesty card and revealing that she was part of the Resistance was rather risky. She therefore opted for a simple and evasive answer.

"My name is Rey. I am looking for someone. His name is K…, Ben. According to the information I have, he would be in a hydroponic farm here on Tatooine. He is very tall with dark hair, he has a scar on his right cheek and he …"

The young woman had just enough time to see the man's face darken before the screen went blank again, and she found herself alone in front of the closed door of the farm. She pressed the button again but this time there was no answer.

Kriff, she'd been really stupid to think that it was enough to knock on the door and make her speech, and she'd be led right to Kylo Ren! Maybe these people had no idea who she was talking about? Maybe he was there and was holding them hostage? She imagined him making fun of her, hidden behind these white walls ...

She was still procrastinating on the stairs when suddenly the black door opened and she found herself with the barrel of a blaster under her nose.

"You will tell me the truth." The blond man seemed much smaller and less intimidating in the flesh.

Rey raised her hands and dropped her staff on the floor.

"Ok, listen, I'm just looking for my ... friend. The last time I saw him, he was hurt. It was four months ago," she explained calmly. "I confess that I have no idea how he landed here, but I'm here to take him home. I just want to know if he's been here or if you've seen him somewhere, at Mos Eisley or Mos Espa, maybe? Bestine? Please, I really need you to help me," she concluded in the most pleading tone she muster.

The blaster lowered and the man swallowed before asking:

"Are you with the Resistance?"

Rey hesitated. If she was going to use the Force on him, it was now or never. But something in the eyes of this poor frightened farmer dissuaded her and she decided to play fair with him.

"Yes, I'm part of the Resistance."

"Prove it," he retorted.

Rey took a deep breath and began searching through the little leather bag hanging from her belt. She pulled out a small golden ring. She activated the mechanism on the side that made the Rebellion emblem hidden in the center of the jewel appear. The man's whole body relaxed immediately and Rey silently thanked Leia for entrusting her with the ring before she left.

"I suspected his name was not Aedan. That was the name he gave to Sovan when she picked him up and took him home after he crashed into the Jundlands with his shuttle. She owns another farm ten kilometers north of here. Your friend now lives in a small cabin not far from her holdings."

"Aedan?" Rey repeated, not sure she had followed everything.

"At the beginning, I told Sovan that it was crazy to house a stranger coming from who knows where, but since he's been here, he's been helping with the farm work, and a week ago he saved Sovan and her son's lives when they were attacked by Tuskens."

Rey could not believe her ears. _Kylo Ren helped with farm work? He saved the lives of these people? There must have been an error. Both of these acts seemed completely out of character._

"My name is Zed, by the way. Sorry to have threatened you with that," he sighed, waving his blaster. "Come inside, I'll explain how to get to Sovan's farm. But you have to hurry, it seems like a sandstorm is approaching."

OooooO

Her departure from Arbra had proceeded as planned. Leia had loaded provisions for her in the Falcon, the tanks had been filled, Chewie had been assigned to repair an _X-wing_ fighter in the southern hangar, and Poe, Finn, and Rose hadn't thought for a moment that she was about to flee like a thief to find their sworn enemy. She knew very well that the general would have to suffer the wrath of her friends when they discovered the truth.

C-3PO and R2-D2 had questioned her a million times during the trip about the purpose of this mission, but the "top secret" had become Rey's two favorite words to utter in response to every request from the droids for an explanation. Besides, she herself did not really know what to expect on Tatooine. She had taken a blaster, her staff, and light clothes. Without really knowing why, she had also packed the spare parts of Luke's lightsaber into her satchel. She had also taken her father's brooch and her little rag doll, as if she had felt the need to carry with her everything she had in this world. Now they were all in one of the Corellian freighter's luggage compartments.

After her conversation with Zed, she had returned to the _Falcon_ and questioned R2-D2. She suspected that the hut described by the farmer was Obi-Wan Kenobi's former shelter. The little droid had already told her the story of Luke's meeting with the famous Jedi master during her research on the Skywalker family.

C-3PO began to gesticulate when he heard that Rey was planning to go there.

"Miss Rey! This part of the planet is very dangerous! According to the data stored in the ship, the Jundlands area is the territory of the Tusken Raiders!"

R2-D2 emitted a series of annoyed stridulations.

"What? How are we already aware?" The golden droid scowled. "R2, are you saying that we have already had to deal with these brigands?"

"Bidbupbigbiiibipp," the little robot retorted.

"Oh Maker, if I find those who ordered the erasure of my memory, I ... Grrrrr! I am outraged! It is unacceptable!"

"R2, enter the coordinates of the cabin in the ship's computer."

The astromech complied and the _Falcon_ flew low over the southwestern end of the Dune Sea. As expected, at point Alpha-1733-Mu-9033, Rey saw the small hut perched on top of a little rocky plateau. It was impossible to land there with the ship. So she decided to do it at the foot of a steep cliff near the entrance to the canyon.

"Miss Rey, are you sure you'll find who you're looking for there? Visibility has fallen sharply, andI'm afraid this sandstorm will only get stronger. It's not really safe to get out now!"

Indeed, the weather had deteriorated in less than an hour. But during the fifteen years she had spent on Jakku, Rey had experienced worse. She wouldn't be deterred by a small sandstorm like this. On the other hand, on the first point, C-3PO was right. She wasn't even sure Ben was here. He might be at the farm of this Sovan woman. But the opportunity was too good to pass up. Either she came face-to-face with him in the hut with no one else to disrupt their reunion — with the possibility of being cut into pieces, but that was a risk she was ready to take — or he was not here, and it would give her plenty of time to search the place. If she could get her hands on his lightsaber, she would greatly reduce the chances of being killed. He should not be able to walk around with this kind of weapon on his belt if, as Zed had told her, he was pretending to be a simple member of the Resistance.

Ignoring C-3PO's advice, she finally decided to go to the cabin. She took a comlink with her to keep in touch with the droids, and ordered them to stay ready to take off.

As she entered the canyon, Rey felt a feverishness invade her.

_Did Ben suspect she was coming to meet him here? How would he react when he saw her?_

Zed said he called himself Aedan and that he lied about being a pilot. Apparently these people had believed his story. Upon reflection, she realized that few people, other than the First Order officers, really knew what Supreme Leader Kylo Ren looked like. The facade of his black mask had been, until very recently, the only face that his victims and his enemies had been able to see.

Quickly, she struggled to control his bikespeeder, shaken from all sides by the increasingly strong winds. As she reached the bottom of the path leading to the top of the hill, Rey felt the force of the hellish storm going on all around her and immediately regretted not listening to the protocol droid. Pebbles now were intermingled with the impressive amount of sand lifted by the wind, and the small projectiles were striking ruthlessly at her head, arms and legs. A violent gust shook the speeder and she was ejected. The mini-tornado propelled the vehicle against the rock wall while Rey pressed herself to the ground to try to escape the same fate. She could hardly see anything. Her goggles were smeared with dust. The turban cloth wrapped around her face could not even stop the sand from seeping into her nostrils and mouth. She swung her head to the side and wiped the glass as best she could to see that her speeder was now unusable. She resisted the onslaught of the storm for a few minutes until a slight lull allowed her to get up and walk on a few hundred meters.

_Damn it! Why had she not waited patiently in the Falcon! _

A new projectile struck her violently on the temple. The shock made her fall to her knees again and she felt something warm running down her ear. All of a sudden, her head began to spin. The incandescent silica invaded her throat and nostrils.

_Filthy desert planet! She was not going to be stoned to death here and buried under the sand!_

She tried to gather her strength to get back on her feet. When she tried to push on her legs, her muscles did not respond. The rain of sharp pebbles did not falter. Reflexively, she rolled into a ball to limit the exposure of her body and felt the sand cover it gradually like a shroud. She was faint and could not move.

But while she was concentrating all her efforts to fill her lungs with oxygen, she felt a presence, an entity whose power rivaled the chaos that reigned around her, and which was getting closer and closer.

Her throat was on fire. Her goggles were covered with an opaque layer again and she could not see anything.

A hand of steel grabbed her by the arm and lifted her up as if she weighed nothing. Still stunned, she let herself go and found herself pressed against what appeared to be a brick wall, supported solidly by the waist. The wind was screaming in her ears. She felt like she was being dragged along by this "thing" which came out of nowhere and her feet were barely touching the ground. Their progress through the terrible tornado lasted a minute or two, then stopped.

Suddenly she was propelled to a hard floor and a door slammed shut.

The sound of the storm was now muffled and the air again breathable. Despite the mist blurring her mind, she realized that she had been led inside ... But inside what?

Still a little dizzy, she got rid of her goggles and her turban. Her head ached, but all her senses were alert now. A violent cough shook her chest. And when she looked up, she saw a gigantic figure, draped from head to foot in a long coat, caulking the bottom of a door.

When he was finished, the giant turned to her and, magically, she instantly found again the use of her legs. She stood up at light speed, ignoring the feeling of whirling that came over her as she retreated into what she recognized as a small circular living room.

The big brown coat fell to the ground and the face of the stranger finally revealed itself.

It was him.

Ben.

He was there, very real in front of her, and was staring at her intently. She once again had the impression that her muscles were no longer responding to the injunctions of her brain. She could do nothing but stare back at him with apprehension.

He held the pommel of his lightsaber in his right hand. She had no more weapons on her. Her staff was probably with the remains of her speeder scattered in the canyon. Instinctively, she looked for something to catch, anything, preferably sharp and sturdy. But apart from the basic furniture and some dishes placed on the coffee table behind her, nothing was appropriate.

"I have no intention of killing you," he said.

_Did he just read her thoughts? Why not take advantage of the situation to get rid of her here and now?_

Her questions remained unanswered and she even thought she was hallucinating when she saw him calmly putting down his lightsaber on the small counter next to him.

She had to remain vigilant ...

Her heart was still pounding. She swallowed hard and a shiver ran through her from head to toe when she realized the weapon was now within reach. She had only to stretch her fingers and make it come to her by using the Force.

"And I don't think you intend to kill me, either," he added, as if to nip her assassination plan in the bud.

"And what makes you believe that?" she retorted.

"You had plenty of time to do it on the _Supremacy_ before fleeing to find your Resistance friends, and I'm still alive."

"I may have changed my mind in four months."

"I don't think so, no…"

Rey looked down and Ben savored his victory. To see him again after all this time was shocking, and she wondered if he felt the same way.

"How did you find me?" she questioned, struggling to control the trembling of her voice.

"I felt your presence."

His grave and stony voice contrasted with the tumult in his eyes. Rey had almost forgotten how tall he was. His hair was still thick and wild. But she was disarmed to see him dressed in simple cotton-colored shirt, cheeks covered with dust.

"And you? How did you find out I was here?" he went on.

"When the Force connected us yesterday, you spoke Jawa," she replied.

A new silence settled between them. Rey wondered if they would play this question-and-answer game longer.

"Where are your rebel friends?"

"I came alone."

_Perfect ... She had just revealed that no one was there to cover her back._

"I do think that you are impulsive and reckless enough to have landed here without reinforcements," he retorted.

Outside, the storm was still raging. The debris carried by the wind came smashing against the walls and windows of the hut. When an impact, louder than the others, made her jump, she instinctively turned her head towards the small window, which was still intact - the glass had to be the syrex that was used in spaceships.

She felt the weight of Ben's gaze still focused on her. If he continued to stare at her like that, she would end up burning. His trim and angular face, his nose a little too big, his terribly sensual lips still troubled her. It was visceral. Ever since he had removed his mask on _Starkiller,_ she found him sublime and captivating. It was incomprehensible. All this did not make sense. She should have hated him with all her soul after what he had done.

The temperature in the room had risen by several degrees despite the night falling outside. She suddenly felt a little tingling at the end of her fingers and the air became heavier. The atmosphere was changing. The immaterial fluid that was now so familiar to them vibrated each atom between their two tensed bodies. The Force seemed satisfied with their reunion and let it know.

"This storm is likely to last," he added, breaking the spell. "I think we're going to be stuck here for a while, so at least we can be cordial with each other."

Rey let out a hiccup of surprise.

"Cordial? I never thought I'd hear you use that word one day …"

Her use of sarcasm seemed to work well enough to hide the whirlwind of emotions he awakened in her. And he was visibly relieved to be able to respond in kind.

"I suppose you landed on this planet aboard the Corellian piece of junk?"

"There's no fooling you."

Ben began to turn around her like a predator gauging its future prey. His eyes drifted to the young woman's right temple and she finally remembered being injured in the storm. She touched the painful point above her ears with the tips of her fingers and realized that she was bleeding. Ben watched her wipe the wound with her sleeve.

"Never mind," he said suddenly before turning around to go to the kitchen.

On the way, he picked up his coat and hung it on the hook near the door.

Now reassured not to have to fear for her life, Rey finally took the time to look more closely around her. The interior of the hut was basic but functional. It was actually rather luxurious compared to what she had known on Jakku. Behind her, there was a round coffee table next to a semicircular bench that served as a bed. On the right was a dining area consisting of another small table and a single chair. The kitchen was near the door through which they had entered. There was a bathroom at the back and a staircase in the living room that led to what she guessed to be a basement. The decoration was non-existent and the furniture minimal.

When Ben returned to the living room, he handed her a glass of water. She remained motionless, suspicion and astonishment on her face.

"It's just water," he said, his arm still stretched toward her.

The young woman hesitated a moment before grabbing the goblet and eagerly drinking the contents. She closed her eyes and sighed comfortably before putting the glass on the table.

Extreme fatigue suddenly overtook her, and she walked a few steps back and dropped into the seat behind her. This blow to her head had been really violent. She felt like her brain weighed a ton, so she began to gently massage the bump that had appeared on her aching temple. She heard a closet open and close and when she opened her eyes again, she saw Ben approach to apply a piece of white cloth to her wound. Rey could barely breathe as he held it pressed against her temple.

_Water, and now a compress? Who was this man?_

Ben's fingers were warm through the fabric and an electric shock ran down her spine from top to bottom. She suddenly lost all will and, anesthetized by this strange sensation, she didn't immediately understand that he was waiting for her to take it. So she hastened to raise her hand to hold the cloth in place.

Then their skin brushed and time stopped.

The young woman's brain was suddenly assailed by a tidal wave of images.

_She was on the Finalizer, in a dark, cold room, alone and panting on the floor. And the next second, she found herself in a huge room strangely resembling the one in which she had fought the Praetorian guards alongside Ben. Armitage Hux was displaying a carnivorous grin and was surrounded by four strangers dressed in black tunics. She was cornered. They threw themselves on her and the fire of their blades tore her skin. The Force pulsed in her, wild and violent, and she recognized with horror the ferocity of the Dark Side ... Her hands were crackling and she was having trouble channeling the flow of energy that wanted to flow from her molten palms._

_She was then sucked into a whirlwind._

"_Did you really think you were Snoke's only apprentice?" whispered a tall, ice-blue-eyed blond man who was gazing at her from his full height._

_Then the unbearable pain invaded her and made her almost lose consciousness as the shuttle moved away from the destroyer to go into hyperspace._

_Change of scenery._

_A polar cold froze her skin. Her hands were shaking and she was struggling to tear the packaging of the bacta-patch she had to apply to the wound in her bleeding abdomen._

_As if she were looking in a mirror, she saw herself standing in the icy room, paralyzed with amazement at Finn's side._

_She once again had the impression of being engulfed by a black hole._

_Her eyes were burning with fever now. She heard a woman's voice. It was gentle and soothing. Then a thin face crowned with auburn hair appeared more clearly through the fog. The suffering slowly faded. The woman smiled. A spicy and woody fragrance was floating in the warm, moist air. She was in a greenhouse. The crystalline voice of a child made her jump: "Rey ... Is she your girlfriend?"_

_Her pulse quickened. Rage invaded her again._

_She looked at her hands and saw that they were covered in blood. At her feet, the bodies of strange masked creatures were lying inanimate._

"_Help us," begged the boy's familiar voice, and a strong smell of antiseptic caught her by the throat. The woman's body was on a stretcher while medical droids were healing her._

_Then suddenly calm returned, finally leaving her a little respite. She could not take it anymore. She was exhausted. Her mind had been thrown into a maelstrom of memories ... Ben's memories. She had relived all that had happened to him in recent months: fear, fury, frustration and suffering, but also doubt, guilt, appeasement ... She had just traveled to the depths of his soul and she had all the answers she'd come searching for._

Her mouth opened to suck in a big gulp of air while her heart continued to beat fast against her sternum. Her face was covered with sweat and her vision readjusted enough to see that Ben, leaning against the wall a few feet from her, was in the same state.

He stared at her in shock too.

Outside, there were no stars in the tormented sky, and the tumultuouswind was continuing to lift up the sand to lick the cabin's white lime walls with its angry breath.

OooooO

**Planet Kintan- Hutt Space- Outer Rim:**

Sylla watched the prisoners with their hands and feet shackled by fine chains of durasteel. They were walking in single file in the middle of two parallel rows of stormtroopers to the ramp of the freighter that would lead them to the mines of Sato. Most of them had been captured in the Arkanis system and were just a bunch of vermin and thieves.

The female knight was getting ready to return to her personal ship when raised voices caught her attention.

A large, muscular man covered in tattoos had stopped walking and was now hitting some of his fellow prisoners.

"Take care of that!" Sylla shouted to the squadron leader.

The trooper made his way over to the recalcitrant man, but before he could order him to calm down by aiming at him with his blaster, the colossus knocked him out and then started kicking the prisoner in front of him until he was on the ground.

The other soldiers hesitated to fire, to avoid "damaging the goods," so Sylla came back with a sigh to solve the problem. She activated her lightsaber and decapitated the troublemaker with a clean and precise gesture. Then she turned to the poor injured guy lying in the dust. Seeing the yellow sword pointed at him, the man immediately began to gesticulate and cry. His originally white mohawk was now stained with blood. Two of his front teeth had been knocked out of his mouth, and he was now holding out his arms in front of him to ward off a possible blow from the dark amazon.

"Please, please, don't! Don't hit me with that thing, not again!"

His eyes were focused on the lightsaber's blade and Sylla froze when she heard him whine and beg.

She leaned toward him as he tried to back off, and grabbed him by the collar.

"What are you talking about? Have you ever been struck by this kind of weapon before?" she asked now, more than intrigued.

The white mohawk man, realizing he might be able to survive if he answered her questions, gestured to his back with a wave of the hand. The poor guy was shaking like a leaf now.

Sylla flipped him over sharply and tore off his tunic to reveal a charred cut from his neck to the bottom of his spine, which was undeniably a mark left by a lightsaber.

"Who did that to you?" she questioned, forcing him to turn again.

The prisoner squeaked before answering, breathless.

"It was this crazy bastard! He had a saber like yours, but the blade was red with a guard in the shape of a cross. And he also had a big scar across his face."

Sylla's blood ran cold in her veins. She could not believe her ears.

"Where?" she added, blessing the stars and all the Sith masters for her good fortune.

"Tatooine …" stammered A'Shek. "It happened on Tatooine."

OooooO


	15. CHAPTER 14

**Tatooine-Outer Rim:**

Ben came out of the small bathroom. He had showered and put on black pants and an anthracite gray tunic. He obviously still appreciated dark colors.

They had not exchanged a word after their intense experience a few minutes earlier. Both of them had come to their senses and Ben had jumped straight into the room behind the kitchen, leaving her panting and particularly shaken in the middle of the living room.

She knew now what had happened to him: the mutiny, and Ben hiding here for months while sharing the daily life of this woman, Sovan Real, and her son. She'd had access to life scenes, sensations, moments of doubt and confusion. Ben had meditated a lot and his fiery temper seemed to have subsided. Yet his convictions and his ideals had been called into question, and Rey had been able to feel his frustration and disappointment. He was helpless, did not know what to think or what to do. The conflict that ripped his soul had never been so violent, and the call of the Light never so deafening.

When Ben finally joined her in the living room, he took great care not to meet her eyes. He walked past her to take another look through the window, and a sweet smell of clean assaulted her nostrils. Rey then straightened instinctively in her seat. She was stinking, covered in dust from head to toe, with her top sticking to her skin.

She had the impression of her thoughts being spoken aloud when he said to her, "You can take a shower if you want to, and wash your clothes."

The scavenger didn't hesitate anymore. She got up and went to the bathroom but stopped in the doorway, realizing that she had nothing to wear until her clothes went into the sonicator.

"There should be clean laundry in the drawer next to you," she heard him add from the living room.

_No. She was not going to wear one of his tunics, was she?_

Her reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall swept away her last reluctance. Her three little buns were messy, her right cheek was covered with blood and, because of her goggles, she had two white circles around her eyes which made her looked like one of those little fructivorous creatures living in the forests of Arbra. She opened the drawer and took the first shirt from the pile. She then entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

She finally relaxed a little and removed the comlink hidden in her bra. It was sheer luck that she didn't lose it in the storm, and Ben didn't search her and find it. She activated the device and tried to contact C-3PO. After four unsuccessful attempts, she gave up. Something was scrambling the signal. Probably this damn storm. It was impossible to warn the droids that she had found Ben, so that they in turn could warn Leia. She gave an angry little grunt before hiding the comlink under the sink and taking off her dirty clothes with a sigh. She would have preferred to feel a stream of cool water pouring down her body, but the sonic shower was already better than nothing. She suspected that here, as on Jakku, water was a precious commodity that was not wasted on showering. Once clean, she ran her fingers through her hair to untangle it and examined the wound on her temple. The cut was not very deep and had already stopped bleeding. Better still, the drumming in her head had stopped. She put on the white linen shirt and rolled the sleeves up to her elbows. She picked up her things and added them to Ben's clothing in the sonicator near the shower, and then started the wash cycle.

She could wait here an hour, in the tiny bathroom, until her clothes were clean. But after five minutes of standing between the shower and the sink, she decided to go out.

Ben was eating a piece of brown bread, sitting by the window. On the coffee table, a piece of the same kind of bread and a bowl of steaming soup awaited her. When he saw her arriving in the living room, he stopped chewing. The shirt, though too big for her, scarcely covered the top of her tanned thighs, on which Ben's eyes lingered a little too long. Suddenly embarrassed by his own boldness, and seeing that Rey was now blushing, he lowered his eyes and went back to eating.

Rey sensed Ben's unease, which only amplified hers. She hurriedly climbed onto the bench, tightened her legs while taking care to keep her tunic down as much as possible, and took a bite of her bread.

The saber was still sitting on the counter and Ben was gazing out at the dark desert outside. Rey chewed open-mouthed, her foot tapping the ground as if to calm her sudden frustration.

_Were they really going to stay like this, nibbling their bread in silence, after what had happened ?_

"Why does the Force continue to connect us and send us these visions?" Rey finally asked directly. "I thought it was Snoke who controlled the link!"

Ben slowly raised his head.

"It seems not," he said, frowning.

"I saw your memories, Ben," she replied. "The attack of the Knights on your ship, your escape, the four months spent here, how you helped this woman and her son …"

She expected him to react negatively to the fact that she had called him by his real name. But he didn't. She even thought she detected a touch of satisfaction in his dark eyes.

"Arbra is a pretty nice planet ... You seem to like it a lot, and are having a good time with your friends there!"

Rey froze. Ben had just confirmed that her worst nightmare had come true: he'd had access to her memory, too. She saw him put his bread on the table and take a sip of soup before continuing.

"You also had made contact with Maz Kanata again. That crazy old woman's theory is very interesting."

"What theory?" Rey asked, now on the defensive.

"The transfer that would have occurred between us during our little discussion on _Starkiller._"

"You mean when I was tied to a metal chair and you ripped through my mind?"

"We were enemies …"

"Aren't we still?"

"I'd like to believe that we are not."

Rey could now feel the pulse of her heart pounding in her throat and the tears rising in her eyes.

"I need to know why you did that," she said.

"Did what?"

He knew exactly what she meant, and Rey was now even more irritated.

"You could have stopped everything on the _Supremacy_. The fights, the war with the Resistance, the massacres, the deaths ... You could have listened to me and finally done something good!"

"I would have done 'something good' at the head of the First Order if you had stayed by my side."

_And here they were._

Rey had the feeling that, once again, Ben's eyes wanted to delve into the depths of her soul, and she could not repress a shiver.

"You decided to let everyone die! The Resistance, your mother, my friends ... You just used me to kill Snoke and take his place. You took advantage of my empathy for you. You played with my feelings. When you told me that I was not nothing, not to you, it was only to make me give in, right? And what was your plan next? To make me bow to the all-powerful Kylo Ren and become what you've been to Snoke all these years? A loyal and obedient slave?"

Ben stared at her now with a mixture of disappointment and sadness.

"You still don't understand why I held out my hand to you, do you?" he whispered.

He was wrong, she had understood perfectly. That day, his imploring gaze, his shaking fingers, and his "please" pronounced with such emotion that she dreamed about it at night, had made her want to give in. But she couldn't tell him…

"All I know is that I didn't want your darkness."

She couldn't look him in the eye anymore.

"Everyone has some darkness inside, Rey. Even you, and you know it. You felt it on _Starkiller_ when you hit me with your sword, and in the cave on Ahch-To when you heard the call of the Dark Side. You used it to challenge Snoke on the _Supremacy_ and to fight the guards. You just refuse to cultivate that part of yourself as I did to become stronger."

"I do not see anyone strong in front of me now. I see someone hiding, doubting, and having no idea how he's going to get out," she added cynically.

Then Ben stood up, approached the bench and laid both hands flat on the coffee table to bend over her.

"So, what are you going to do now?" he asked.

She remained perfectly still and tried to control her breathing while holding his stare. His full lips were quivering. The nervous twitching under his left eye made a fleeting appearance. A little flustered by his sudden proximity, Rey struggled to find an answer.

"Capture me and take me to your dear rebel friends?" he suggested. "You can always try, I wish you good luck. Unless you want to try to 'save' me again, now that I have lost my place at the head of the First Order. Are you going to give me your speech full of good feelings in the manner of the great Jedi Master Luke Skywalker?"

Rey's throat tightened a little more.

"There is still Light in you. Everything I saw just now proves it," she retorted.

"No, there is nothing left to save, Rey. Accept it."

He had said these words without blinking, with the firm conviction of being right. He didn't want to be saved. He did not want to be the one who had offered her the galaxy anymore. The one who, on his knees, had begged her with his eyes not to leave him alone in the middle of the cold and empty command post on Crait. He wanted to be the monster she had seen in him before their shared Force connection had forced her to see him differently.

But Rey realized that she wanted to fight, that she was not going to let him get away with it so easily.

"Monsters do not save the lives of families in distress," she retorted as a final argument. "They do not spend hours contemplating sunsets, enduring the babbling of little boys who swoon with admiration before them. And they do not waste their time repairing connectors to prevent small farmers from losing their harvest…"

Without taking his eyes off of her, Ben slowly straightened up before moving back and sitting again near the window. Rey had instinctively tightened her arms around her as if, all of a sudden, lost in the middle of this desert, all heat had just left her body.

Ben's long black locks were now framing his profile. In the chiaroscuro of the room, he had never seemed as beautiful and fragile as at this moment. So, while staring at the storm outside, he answered:

"Monsters murder their fathers, slaughter innocent people, deny their families and dream only of revenge. Monsters don't become angels, Rey. Never."

Rey's heart felt then as if it had been plunged into an icy pit, at the bottom of which there was not an ounce of light.

OooooO

The last time he had the opportunity to watch her sleep was when she was a prisoner on _Starkiller_. Sheltered behind his mask, he had contemplated the satiny texture of her skin, her plump parted lips, the length of her eyelashes, and the constellation of freckles dotting her nose.

When he had taken off his helmet, she'd tried to hide her surprise in a defiant manner. She had not expected to see a human face behind this metal facade.

Then he had approached her, begun to question her, and the aura emanating from Rey's body had acted upon him like a magnet. He had been irresistibly attracted to this girl from nowhere who'd dared to challenge him. He had not, at first, understood why. It was so new to him. She had something special, unique. He suspected that the Force had wanted to play with them.

And now she was lying in front of him again, breathing softly and curled up on the little bunk in the living room.

She was beautiful.

He felt drained by the many questions he'd had to answer. She'd wanted to know why she hadn't felt his presence on Hoth before he was more than a few feet away from her in the infirmary. He then explained that he was able to hide from other Force users, a skill which Snoke had taught him. Cutting off contact with his knights after the mutiny was imperative in order to escape them. And even here, at the other end of the galaxy, he had to keep doing it and stay alert. Next, the conversation had drifted to Rey's parents. Through their previous connection, Ben had seen the young woman's trip to Jakku, the visit she'd made to Unkar Plutt, and the brooch belonging to her father that led her to believe that her family was linked with Naboo. She wanted to delve into the past, while he would've given anything to erase from his mind what his uncle Luke had shown him four months ago.

He still could not believe that the great Darth Vader had turned away from the Dark Side in the last moments of his life for the love of a son (and a daughter) he didn't even know he had ... The truth had shaken him more than he wanted to admit and he did not yet know what to do with this revelation. Rey hadn't had access to this memory involving his uncle's Force ghost, or she would have already addressed the subject.

He and Rey had continued to discuss Good and Evil for another hour. Then she'd been silent for a long time, drunk her cold soup, and yielded to the comfort offered by the small futon. She was obviously no longer afraid that he would attack her because she fell asleep quickly after that.

Ben ran his hand through his hair before gently rubbing his forehead. He was letting himself be overcome by sleep, too. When he turned his head to her again, he saw that Rey was occupying the entire surface of the bunk. His gaze slid slowly over the scavenger's tanned legs and he licked his lips. He imagined grazing her ankles with his fingertips, caressing her calves, moving up to the silky skin of her thighs, passing under her linen tunic and ...

_Oh Maker, it was not the moment to think about that!_

He got up abruptly, grabbed his saber and, gasping for breath, he walked noiselessly down the stairs to the basement. Once in the shed, he leaned against the small workbench and took a few seconds to repress the wave of desire currently shaking his lower abdomen.

The storm outside was calming down and the sun was going to rise in a few hours …

He retrieved his precious briefcase from a drawer. He then grabbed a canvas bag and put his weapon and some rations in it. He closed it all, sighed loudly, and ran his hand nervously through his hair before taking a few seconds to think.

Since Rey had found him, he had no choice but to leave Tatooine as soon as possible.

OoooooO

**Planet Malachor - Outer Rim:**

"You see, Tehari, this temple has a fabulous story. It was built by the Sith a thousand standard years before the rise of the Empire. All the most powerful knights of the Dark Side have come to gather here. And that's not all…"

The child was sitting at the feet of Elias and drinking in his words.

"In the past, the heart of the temple housed a weapon powered by a blood-red giant kyber crystal, which had been extracted from the depths of Ilium. This super-weapon was the most devastating ever built in the entire galaxy and could only be controlled with a holocron."

"A holocron? What is that, Master?" the child asked.

"Holocrons look like little boxes. They're artifacts, very precious and very rare, made and used by the Jedi and Sith in times past. Many were destroyed, others were lost."

"What are they for?"

"These objects contain knowledge in the form of texts and holographic messages, but they can also sometimes be used as activators for different devices," Elias explained.

"Oh …" the child was fascinated. "And what happened ? Why does the weapon you mentioned no longer exist, Master?"

"Jedi led an assault on the temple. The Sith knights fought hard to repel them. But during the fight, the weapon was inadvertently activated and all the combatants without exception were petrified on the battlefield."

"Are they all those stone silhouettes standing at the foot of the pyramid?"

Elias nodded as the little boy, gaping, waited for the end of the story.

"No one dared to venture on the planet after that. Everyone was too afraid that the weapon would fire again. Much later, under the reign of Dark Sidious and his apprentice Darth Vader, this place was once again desecrated by Jedi. Vader tried to stop them in vain. The holocron was extracted from its receptacle and taken away from the temple. The pyramid was destroyed as well as the super-weapon."

"How do you know all this, my Lord?"

His young apprentice was so excited and Elias saw himself in his place, about ten years back, just as captivated and attentive when Snoke narrated the adventures of Dark Side knights.

"You know, I have always been fascinated by this place. One day, I took advantage of a mission my former master had given me to come here to Malachor and explore the ruins. I went down to the foundations of the temple, where the heart of the weapon once was. Nothing remained, except some pieces of crystal still intact. I picked them up and went back with them."

Real red crystals from the original weapon. For him, it was a real treasure and he had believed that if, this time, he offered them to Snoke, his gesture would be rewarded. But the latter, completely obsessed with the formation of his precious disciple Kylo, had shown little interest in his present. The vile old man had even made the affront of offering half the crystals to Ren, and then returned the remaining pieces to him. Despite this, Elias had still begged him to take him as a second apprentice, a practice that was new among the Sith and the Jedi. But Snoke loved to maintain the rivalry and animosity between his knights of Ren, believing that it was an integral part of their initiation into the Dark Side. The young man had pleaded his case so well that Snoke had found the challenge to his liking and had finally accepted. Elias was only instructed to reveal nothing to others. And so, during all these years, he too had benefited from the teachings of the powerful dark lord without anyone knowing. He had been an attentive, discreet apprentice and by dint of determination and will, he had finally returned to the good graces of Supreme Leader Snoke and shared some of his little secrets ...

"Where is the holocron now, Master?"

Tehari was just finishing his question when Sylla burst into the hall and headed straight for them. Elias dismissed the little boy with a wave of his hand. The history class was over. The child stood up and slipped away in silence. The dark amazon then planted herself in front of Elias before greeting him with a nod and declaring triumphantly:

"I know where Kylo is. One of our prisoners dealt with him on Tatooine."

The news snatched a frown from the blond knight.

"I always thought he hated the desert," he jeered before getting up to face Sylla.

"Let me go there," she begged, her eyes black as the night and already shining with rage.

"Are you sure about this intel? This prisoner may have lied."

"I probed his mind. He did not lie. Kylo was in Bestine in a makeshift clinic with a kid. He had his lightsaber, and killed the two scoundrels who accompanied the prisoner."

As she spoke, Elias seemed lost in thought.

"So he is alive…" he murmured. "We cannot afford to let him go again. I'll go."

Sylla tensed and clenched her teeth, her whole body protesting silently.

"So you don't think I can handle it alone," she said.

Elias met the young woman's proud gaze and sighed. He could not decently answer her that, indeed, he had no confidence in her. Despite all that Kylo had done, Elias was sure that she was still in love with him, and so her desire to kill him could easily evaporate like snow in the sun in front of Kylo Ren imploring forgiveness and promising her wonders. He was afraid of that. But maybe he was wrong — Sylla's hatred may be steadfast now.

No, there was a bigger problem: facing her, Ren would have the opportunity to tell his story. He could tell her that Elias had lied to everyone, that he was Snoke's other apprentice, that he had killed Bram in order to frame Kylo, and that he was the real assassin of Jor ... But would she believe him?

Anyway, Kylo Ren had to be eliminated without attracting attention, which meant not involving Hux's troops.

Sending Sylla was not such a bad idea in the end. At best, the work was done, and in the worst case, she was killed.

_A minor loss._

"Please Elias, let me take care of him. If he is there, I promise you to bring him bound hand and foot so that you can kill him yourself."

The knight stared at her.

"Have you ever forgotten what happened on the _Finalizer_? The four of you were not even able to take him down! He killed Bram and almost did the same to all of you! Do you really think you're up to dealing with him alone?"

Sylla knew Elias was right. She was just struggling to digest the fact that they had all been swept away like straw by their old Master.

"I'll be ready this time. You have no idea what a scorned woman can do to take revenge, even less if I am that woman."

Elias felt ready to give in. Even if Kylo tried to turn Sylla against him, he would deny everything, pretending that the son of Leia Organa just wanted to save his own neck.

"I know Hux shouldn't be involved, but I can take several squadrons of stormtroopers, if you want. I can…"

"No!" Elias exclaimed. "The soldiers do not need to know that Kylo is no longer at the head of the First Order."

Sylla nodded. Then, after a few seconds of reflection, Elias declared:

"OK, you go. But first, round up all the Hutt mercenaries there who are already looking for him, and have them back you up. Don't allow Kylo say a word; don't even let him lift a finger. I want you to get rid of him once and for all."

OoooooO

**Tatooine-Outer Rim:**

Rey woke with a start. She took a few seconds to emerge from the fog of sleep and realize where she was. A slight draft between her thighs reminded her that she was lying on the bunk wearing only a too-short shirt. She then took a panicked look all around her. She had just closed her eyes for a few minutes and had fallen asleep like a log in the same room as ...

_No, no, no ... he hadn't ran away, right ?_

She leapt to the window to find that the storm had stopped. She rushed to the bathroom and retrieved her own belongings. She dressed quickly and grabbed the comlink hidden under the sink. At least Ben hadn't found it.

When she returned to the living room, she noticed that the coat hanging on the hook was gone. She let out an exasperated sigh before descending to the basement. Obviously empty. She went up, struggled a little against the door blocked by the accumulated sand — how had he left the hut? — and finally managed to go out to inspect the surroundings. Behind the hut, she discovered a small shelter. A large tarp and ropes were lying on the ground. She deduced that this was where Ben must have kept his landspeeder. He had to cover it and tie it before the storm, and now he'd left with it, leaving her alone and without a vehicle to return to the _Millennium Falcon._

"C-3PO do you hear me?" she cried a little breathlessly in the device.

"Miss Rey! Finally! R2 and I were so worried! But where are you? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine! The storm destroyed my speeder but I'm safe. But now, I'm going to have to walk to the ship and it'll take me at least an hour," she grumbled as she finished adjusting her turban on her head. "You're waiting for me, okay?"

"Copy that, Miss Rey! R2 and I do not move from here!"

OooooO

Not having her staff in hand was very destabilizing. She felt like a limb or something was missing. She took the way back to the _Falcon_, struggling to walk. Mounds of sand had been carried by the storm and she soon arrived in front of the half-buried remains of her speeder. She couldn't believe her eyes when she found her staff next to the engine.

"Yes!" she exclaimed with enthusiasm.

She then took to the road again, thinking about Ben.

_Where was he?_

He could have gone anywhere: Bestine, Mos Eisley, Mos Espa ... She was sure he was going to try to leave Tatooine now that he knew he was discovered. Did he have a shuttle? She hadn't seen anything around the cabin. Maybe he had left it in that woman's farm.

_In any case, what could she do now?_

She had confirmation that the First Order had declared Ben "the most wanted man in the galaxy," but she had once again failed miserably with him. He now knew where the Resistance was and had just evaporated into the wild, abandoning her in the middle of the desert.

_This expedition was a real fiasco._

The massive silhouette of the _Falcon_ appeared between two rocky peaks. She warned C-3PO via the comlink that she was arriving, and the ramp lowered.

"You are finally here, Miss Rey! Praised be the Maker, you are safe!" the golden droid exclaimed when Rey burst into the cockpit.

"Bipdupbipbipdupdup," R2-D2 added.

"Yes I know, sorry for worrying you both."

Rey then asked the robots to check the hyperdrive system and when she was finally alone, she stepped into the pilot's seat and put on the communications helmet. She contacted Leia on a private channel and told her what had happened in a pitiful tone.

"I'm so sorry ... It happened so fast, I couldn't control anything. I put you all in danger, I blame myself so much."

"Rey, please, stop it. What is done is done," the general answered.

"But Leia, he knows you're on Arbra!"

"I know Rey, but honestly, what do you think he can do as long as he has the First Order at his heels? Those old 'friends' want him dead. So unless he is captured by this Elias or he succeeds, by some miracle, at regaining his position as Supreme Leader, in either case we have nothing to fear in the immediate future. And you know that we are always alert and ready to evacuate just in case."

Leia was right, but Rey could not shake off the feeling of guilt and worry that was gnawing at her heart.

"What do you plan to do now?" the Resistance leader asked.

"I don't know... Any advice?"

Rey heard Leia sigh.

"The wisest course of action would be to come back here to Arbra…"

Indeed, it was obviously the thing to do. But why did she perceive an entirely different message in the conditional used by the general?

"I will contact you again later, okay?" Rey concluded before ending the communication.

C-3PO and R2-D2 appeared on the cockpit threshold.

"Miss Rey, we checked everything. Systems are fully operational. We can leave this planet whenever you want and finally return to the base."

The little blue and gray robot confirmed this news with a series of happy stridulations. Rey's gaze was lost in contemplation of the heat-vibrating skyline. In the depths of the ocher plain, she could distinguish the distant and tiny silhouette of a dozen moisture vaporizers. She took a deep breath and one last thought suddenly crossed her mind.

"We're not going to leave right away," she said, regretting immediately that she was undermining the droids' good mood. "We will first make a small stop at Sovan Real's farm."

OooooO


	16. CHAPTER 15

**Planet Tatooine- Outer Rim :**

Kylo had already lost too much time.

_What was he still doing here?_

He had to get to Bestine. In the cabin two hours earlier, he'd made his decision. He'd straddled his landspeeder and headed straight for the capital. He still did not know what had caused him to stop at the Reals' farm, but the idea of leaving Sovan and Shalim without checking that everything was fine had upset him much more than he wanted to admit.

_Five minutes. He had promised himself to stay only five minutes._

But when he arrived, he could see that everything was not going well. The damage caused by the storm was visible from the entrance to the farm. Without delay, he had turned on his speeder to conduct a thorough inspection of the vaporizer field: nearly half of the devices were destroyed. Then he went down to check the underground greenhouses. Fortunately, nothing had been touched here, and the droids had even started harvesting. But according to his estimates, the sale of water and cultivated mushrooms would not be enough to finance the replacement of a quarter of the sacked facilities.

Sovan, who was barely recovering, was depressed. She was trying to put on a happy face and be positive in front of her son, but Kylo could see that she was ready to burst into tears.

"Mom, what are we going to do if we don't have enough money to rebuild the vaporizers? Will we have to leave?"

"All will be fine Shalim, don't worry …"

"I can work, you know, mom! I can go to Bestine to see Minos Buk, and ask if he needs someone to clean or serve customers in his spare parts store. I am the man of the house now, I have to take care of you as dad did."

And that's when Sovan cracked. She repressed her sobs as best as she could while squeezing her son tightly against her.

Kylo felt like an intruder while watching the scene.

"No, I refuse to let you go to work for Minos Buk. We'll get by," she repeated as if to convince herself. "As long as we stay together, everything will be fine."

The little boy snuggled his head against his mother's chest and Sovan gently stroked his brown curls. They had been alone in the face of adversity for so long now ...

"I love you mom."

"I love you too, honey."

Kylo's throat tightened and he did not even try to fight it this time. He ran a hand through his hair and coughed to signal that he was still there before declaring in a deep voice:

"I ... I'll check the ventilation system and the central generator just to make sure the greenhouses are safe."

Sovan looked up at him, and her big gray eyes bore into his. The young woman had guessed that something was wrong.

"You are about to leave."

It was not a question, but rather a heartbreaking observation. Then it was Shalim's turn to lift his chin and stare at him. The little boy with his inexhaustible babbling was this time unable to utter a single word.

Kylo knew this look too well.

In the past, this look was his as he watched, broken-hearted, the takeoff of the _Falcon_ or Leia's shuttle from the runway of the Chandrila Airport.. After each departure, there were long moments of gazing at the sky, terrified that his parents would not come back, leaving him alone and abandoned.

His parents had always returned. But he would probably never set foot on Tatooine again.

OooooO

With the tip of her boot, Sylla lifted the old piece of rusty iron scrap lying on the ground before sending it careening against the wall to clear the way. The reception area of this medical shop in the northern district of Bestine had been inundated with sand. A violent storm seemed to have struck a few hours earlier on this part of the planet: the front door had been torn down, and the bay windows at the back of the room were cracked.

The young woman entered the treatment room and stepped over an old droid sitting on the ground, to finally reach the computers lined up behind the operating table. But suddenly, a hoarse voice rose from the hall.

"There is nothing here! We searched the cellar and the storage. Bacta, painkillers, anesthetics ... Everything has already been looted!" grumbled a bald man with a tattooed skull.

Sylla rolled her eyes before giving an annoyed sigh. She wasn't pleased to team up with Mintha the Hutt's mercenaries. But she had to admit that they were formidable warriors. Moreover, they did not ask questions and obeyed orders without complaint. That was all that mattered.

"That's not what we're searching for," she replied, continuing to tap on the keyboard in front of her.

She accessed the treatment history and went back to the date indicated by the white-mohawked slave. After opening the corresponding file, she found that it was empty. Sylla's face then broke down and she slammed an angry fist on the table. All records of surgeries and data for that day had been erased.

_Damn it, Kylo ..._

She turned around and saw the second medical droid waiting quietly at the back of the room. Sylla rushed over and reactivated the robot. Luckily, it was still operational and raised its flattened head, flashing its photoreceptors.

"I want a report of every patient who was seen eight days ago," Sylla ordered, praying that the droid wasn't too damaged.

The synthetic voice of the GH-7 robot answered without delay: "Impossible request. Empty memory card."

The rage of the female knight was heard as far as the street, where two Barabel giants stood guard, guns in hand.

She was desperate. Kylo had erased all traces of his passage here. Impossible to know why and with whom he had come. The few inhabitants interviewed in the neighborhood had been rather cooperative but did not know much: a fight had broken out, three guys had died including Zilog, the proprietor of the clinic. The bodies had been swung out into the street by a tall man wrapped in a brown coat, who had come out with a woman in his arms and a kid running behind him. Nobody had really seen where they had gone and besides, no one cared.

Sylla exhaled slowly and tried to calm down. She would rake the entire surface of this planet if necessary. She was going to find him and make him pay for his betrayal.

The beep of her comlink sounded as she was about to leave the room. It was one of Mintha's henchmen on a shuttle flight over the Jundland Desert.

"You will never guess what I just saw at the entrance to Kingya Rift!" the pilot shouted. "That old piece of junk belonging to Han Solo!"

Sylla stopped on the threshold of the clinic.

"What?" she exclaimed. She must have misunderstood.

"When I was working for Jabba, Han was already causing us a lot of problems! But it's been a while since I've seen him!" he sneered.

The young woman calculated at the speed of lightning.

"Go back there! We mustn't lose this ship, understood? Follow him wherever he goes and send me the coordinates!"

"But he was heading east! And I'm almost to Mos Eisley!"

"Well, turn around and find it! If this freighter escapes us, I will personally make you regret it!"

Sylla then changed the frequency of her comlink to address all of her troops:

"Change of plan. Everyone in the fighters, heading east. We remain in permanent contact from now on. Our new target is the _Millennium Falcon._"

OooooO

Rey lifted her head from the dashboard and finally saw the vaporizer field of the Real farm.

Well ... what was left of it.

Through the window of the _Falcon_, she also spotted a landspeeder parked not far from the main house and congratulated herself internally for having followed her instincts.

_She knew it. Ben was here._

She landed the ship a few hundred yards away from the dome, unhooked her belt and pulled down the ramp. Staff in her hand, she was about to go down when the frantic beeps of R2-D2 stopped her in her tracks.

"I'll be right back R2, do not panic!" she reassured him.

"Miss Rey! Miss Rey!" The golden figure of C-3PO was hurrying down the corridor. "Do you want R2 and me to accompany you?"

"No, I prefer to go alone. Stay here, both of you," she ordered, ignoring the new protests from the little astromech.

She decided not to announce herself this time, and went straight to the patio dug into the rocky ground, just like in the old Lars farm. She was halfway down the small stone staircase when she saw Ben burst out of one of the side rooms to stand in the middle of the courtyard. He was followed almost immediately by a child with shaggy black hair, and a few seconds later by a young woman whom Rey guessed to be Sovan.

"What are you doing here?" Ben asked coldly.

The scavenger stopped in the middle of the steps and tightened her grip on her staff.

"I…"

"Are you Aedan's girlfriend?" the boy asked naively.

The young woman's eyes widened with astonishment and she felt her cheeks flare up.

"I ... I'm Rey," she stammered, not knowing how to react.

Sovan and Shalim examined her from head to toe. When she finally met Ben's gaze, she saw that he was downright angry. Then suddenly, his whole expression changed. He looked up at the patio and froze like a beast at bay. There was apparently something happening that he was the only one to perceive. He cursed, muttering words that Rey did not understand, and grabbed Sovan and the child each with one arm to bring them back inside.

"What's going on?" Rey asked, watching the trio disappear through the door behind them.

She ran down the rest of the stairs to join them and stopped on the doorstep to see Ben open a metal briefcase resting on the table.

"Tell me what is happening!" she insisted.

"Sylla is here," he retorted.

Sovan's jaw dropped when she saw the multitude of little yellow and black rectangles that Ben began to pour into a leather bag. The young widow had never seen such a quantity of galactic credits. He filled the wallet, and when he had finished, he handed it to Sovan, still dumbstruck and stupefied.

"It's for you. Hide them in a safe place. I have to leave right away. Those who are after me have found me."

"Who is Sylla?" Rey couldn't help but ask again.

"She is a Knight of Ren, and she is not far from here. She can't sense me, but she will be able to sense your presence since you are not yet able to hide your aura in the Force. She will come here if you don't leave."

Rey's blood froze in her veins. She had only been here for forty-eight hours, and now the First Order had landed too. Had she been followed? Was it really her fault? If so, she had ruined all the efforts Ben had made to make to hide himself from his new enemies. Sovan's trembling voice cut short his speculation.

"A Knight of Ren? The Force? What are you talking about?"

Ben saw that Shalim was dying to answer and finally tell his mother that the man they had been helping for four months had a splendid lightsaber. So he took the lead and, reluctantly, put a hand on the child's head and the other on Sovan's cheek. Rey watched the scene with curiosity as Ben's deep voice echoed in the little living room.

"I am just a pilot of the Resistance, nothing more."

The child and his mother were staring at him and drinking in his hypnotic words.

"And all these galactic credits, you found them in a ship that had crashed in the desert. Nobody will come to claim them. They are therefore yours. You can use them as you like. Now I am going to leave and you will continue to live as you always have, always counting on each other, no matter what happens."

"No matter what happens," repeated the woman and the child together, her gaze fixed and her body motionless.

Ben's fingers lingered a few seconds on the young widow's face and in the child's hair. Rey was stunned. She had never seen Luke's nephew so tender, if not with her ...

Sovan blinked and seemed to be slowly coming out of her trance. Her hand came to join Ben's on her cheek and she gave him a grateful smile.

"Thank you for everything," she murmured, on the verge of tears.

The tall man gave her and her son a furtive smile. Then he closed his briefcase and put it back in the canvas bag that he swung onto his shoulder. Crossing the threshold, he grabbed Rey's arm and forced her to follow him.

"Hey!" she protested as Ben pulled her to the stairs.

"You leave with the _Falcon_. Sylla probably won't have come alone. I bet a destroyer is now in orbit and is waiting for the order to send fighters and transports troops. With luck, they will not go after you."

"And you?" Rey asked.

"I'm heading for the Jundland Desert," Ben replied.

They had just reached the top of the stairs, and gazed down at the two frail silhouettes below of Sovan and Shalim clutching each other in the middle of the courtyard. They were watching them go. The green-eyed child, his face bathed in tears, addressed Ben with a wave of his hand as a farewell. The latter responded with a nod before rushing to his speeder, still pulling Rey by the arm.

The young woman, not enjoying being dragged in this way, freed herself from Ben's iron grip before exclaiming:

"I can walk alone! And first of all, what are you going to do now? If you stay on Tatooine, they will capture you!" she protested.

Ben stopped to turn around and stand in front of her.

"They are not here to capture me. They are here to kill me. But I don't intend to let them."

"You may be strong, but that won't be enough this time, Ben. Not against entire squadrons of stormtroopers, TIE fighters and a destroyer."

She was looking at him now with her beautiful hazel eyes. The sunlight on her face brought out the green and gold glitter that dotted her irises and the adorable freckles on her nose. He would surely die in a very short time, but he didn't care. All that mattered was her, and he would do everything in his power to protect her.

"Get out," he commanded, leaving her on the spot and heading towards the speeder.

Rey caught him and grabbed his arm, forcing him to face her again.

"No! I won't leave you here. You're coming with me!"

Her lips were tight. Ben realized that she was furious and frightened. Why? What would it do to her if the First Order took him? Was she afraid that, in an attempt to save his own life, he would give up everything he had discovered about the Resistance to Hux and the Knights? Or was there something else? Something he did not even dare to hope ...

"Why do you want me to come with you?" he asked, taking a step toward her.

Ben eyes were roaming over her. His face was so close to hers that Rey could feel his warm breath on her skin. Her eyes drifted automatically to his plump lips.

She was not sure she could give him the answer he expected — even though, at that very moment, her body was on fire, even though her heart was on the verge of implosion, even though the Force implored her silently to tell Ben that ...

"The First Order must not find you," she murmured. "And especially not with this speeder."

"Why?" he repeated.

His mouth had gently whispered this word to her.

Rey's heart was pounding in her chest. In two seconds, her trembling legs would no longer support her. She managed, however, to take a step back, to leave the magnetic sphere of Ben's body and stare down at the dusty floor.

"Because they will discover that it belongs to Sovan and Shalim. They will realize that they've helped you. They're going to torture them just for fun, destroy their farm, and also go after Zed and his family. You know their methods. Not so long ago, these methods were yours."

She had just been intentionally hurtful and she hated herself for that. But using Ben's attachment to the farmers was the best thing she could do. Keeping them safe was a good reason to leave Tatooine right away. Above all, it prevented Rey from confessing that the very idea that he could be killed was unbearable to her, that the feelings she felt for him were too strong and she was afraid of them.

Impossible for her to tell him that ... Not now.

Without even looking at him, she felt him tense. She felt his disappointment and sadness as if they were hers.

When she finally dared to look up, he was staring unflinchingly the _Falcon_ parked behind her.

"You're right," he said.

Rey knew very well that if Sovan and Shalim had not been part of the equation, Ben would have preferred to risk dying here instead of boarding his father's freighter. He gave in, but could not hide his repugnance as he climbed the boarding ramp alongside the young woman. When she pressed the button to close the platform, she even heard him grumbling behind her:

"I hate this old piece of junk."

OoooooO

R2-D2 was furious. He had beeping continuously since Ben had crossed the threshold of the common room.

The astromech had pulled out all its panoply of tools and mechanical arms ready to carbonize Kylo Ren with its laser torch, to knock him down with a blow from its electroshock arm, or even both at one time. Rey had intervened before Ben reduced it to pieces with a snap of his fingers.

"No R2, stop! HE is the 'top secret' mission! We came here to find him and now he's coming with us!"

"So I see this traveling tin can is still in working order…" he had scoffed at the little robot before being immediately rewarded by a spate of electronic insults.

Now it was C-3PO's turn to express loudly his dissatisfaction.

"Oh my…! Why didn't the princess inform us that the secret mission concerned her son?! And that we'd now be traveling with him? It's madness, Miss Rey!"

Rey used all her force of persuasion to calm R2-D2 and reassure C-3PO before asking them to prepare the ship. Reluctant and visibly annoyed, the two friends went to the control panel while continuing to complain to each other.

The young woman then turned to Ben. He was tense and uncomfortable. Being in his father's ship was torture for him. He was staring at the ground and clenching his fists as if to restrain himself from doing something he might regret.

"We have to take off now," Rey said.

"It's out of the question for me to step into the cockpit," he retorted.

"What?"

"You heard me," he sighed before rushing back to the corridor leading to the crew cabin.

Rey let out a grunt of anger. She went alone to the cockpit, sat down in the pilot's seat, and turned on the engines. She initiated the flight sequence and the _Falcon_ climbed slowly into the air, making a fluid half-turn before beginning its ascent to the troposphere. The voice of C-3PO soon echoed on the vessel's internal communications channel:

"Miss Rey! Do you see that on the control screen? It looks like five ships are coming at great speed right behind us!"

Rey looked over at the viewing screen.

"Here they are," she muttered, pushing the throttle fully open.

OooooO

Sylla was already stamping with impatience in the cockpit of her TIE fighter. Behind her, the tattooed mercenary was her co-pilot and confirmed that sensors had just spotted the Corellian freighter at most five hundred meters straight ahead.

"To all the ships," she ordered, "Fire at will on the _Millennium Falcon_. Shoot that piece of junk down!"

The four starfighters and the CR90 corvette sailed in a tight line towards their goal with the firm intention of putting a definitive end to the career of Han Solo's famous ship.

OooooO

Rey was staring at the control screens: the ships were spreading out around the _Falcon_. Two above, one on the right, and two behind them. Impossible for her to jump to light speed without first getting rid of their pursuers. The bewildered stridulations of R2-D2 erupted in the communications channel, and Ben suddenly appeared in the doorway of the cockpit, slightly out of breath, looking worried but determined. Their eyes locked then with the certainty that the situation had become critical.

"Activate the deflector shields," he said. "They are going to fire."

As if to confirm his fears, the first salvo of laser beams shook the _Falcon_. The stern of the ship had been hit. Several alarms sounded on the cockpit panel.

"The shields, now!" Ben shouted when a second volley of shots struck the starboard side this time.

He almost fell backwards, catching himself just in time by grabbing the metal door frame.

Rey maneuvered to avoid both the shots and the enemy corvette, and rushed into a narrow canyon.

Wedged between the cliff and the corvette, the hull of the _Falcon_ scraped a rocky outcropping, and Ben was almost flattened against the wall of the corridor once again.

"Sorry!" Rey exclaimed as she accelerated further to outpace the enemy squad. She stretched her arm toward the co-pilot's side panel to activate the shields but she couldn't reach the button.

"I need a little help here!" she yelled.

In spite of himself, Ben finally decided to enter the cockpit and pressed the button to activate the shields.

Nothing.

A second time.

Still nothing.

He began to get angry and pummel the poor button with no further results.

"Why doesn't it work?" Rey panicked.

"Because this ship is a trash bin," Ben spat.

"The previous fighters' hits must have damaged something!"

"Without the shields it'll be hard to survive this …"

Rey's heart was beating wildly. Her hands clutching the controls, she was trying to keep the lead she had managed to win on the First Order ships, but Ben was right: without the shields, they were dead. The little nervous tick had reappeared on Ben's face. Suddenly, she felt his gigantic hand resting on the backrest to rotate her seat.

"Let me," he said, grabbing her forearm to make her leave the chair.

"What? But…"

She didn't even have time to protest. Ben was now sitting in her seat and she was relegated to co-pilot status. She was about to tell him what she thought of his cavalier attitude when he made a spectacular loop to avoid the deadly bursts of one of the Manta starfighters. Rey was stuck to her seat, her mouth open and her hands clutching the armrests. Once the cargo ship stabilized again and Rey's stomach was back in place, she gave Ben a murderous look.

"I was doing very well!"

"I never said you weren't," he taunted openly. "But I think I have more experience than you when it comes to aerial combat."

"You arrogant jerk." Rey swallowed her insult before opening the internal communications channel in front of her.

"R2! There is a problem with the shields! They won't activate!" she yelled.

In the common room, the droid immediately connected with the shipboard computer.

The _Falcon_ was now rising off the dunes. Rey stared at the horizon and saw a multitude of clay shapes rising up, looking like mushrooms, and forming a picturesque and disturbing landscape.

"Ben ... I don't think it's a good idea to go that way …"

"Those who are on our heels are mercenaries, not seasoned pilots. Two _Manta_ fighters, a Corellian CR90 corvette, a _B-wing_ fighter MARK. I presume Sylla is inside the TIE. We may have a chance if we manage to get them to maneuver in the Mesa."

R2-D2 had always been a very fast and efficient little droid. Its damage report arrived quickly on the control screen: the internal circuits of the shields had been affected. The little astromech had activated his magnetic feet and had already reached the front of the ship to begin repairs. But restoring the deflector generator would take hours.

The _Falcon_ was slaloming between the rocky peaks, still flanked by the corvette on its right and the other pursuers behind. Ben may have been arrogant but Rey could not deny that he was right: he was good. She had already seen Chewie and Han at work and those two were already very good pilots, just like Poe who was impressive flying with a _X-wing_. But Ben was simply amazing. The annoyance of the young woman dissipated as quickly as it appeared, replaced by admiration. Leia's son anticipated each maneuver of their enemies, each shot, each attempt to overtake them. In Ben's hands, the _Falcon_ performed miraculous feats.

Alas, the topography of the place was not playing in their favor. Rey initial dread was confirmed. The space between the stone pillars was very narrow and the sides of the freighter were dangerously close to the walls. The ships clinging on to them were gaining ground. The alarms began to scream. The _TIE_ had just got a lock on them. At the same time, the corvette armed its guns. The fighter was ready to shoot, too. If they got caught in the crossfire, they'd be dead.

Ben turned his head to Rey and frowned.

"Hold on," he advised.

The young woman, who understood what he was planning to do, prepared for impact. The freighter made a sudden shift to the left and intentionally bumped into the corvette to send it crashing against the head of one of the pillars. The enemy ship exploded in a fireball. The _Falcon_ narrowly escaped the same fate when Ben shifted, without losing a second, in the opposite direction. Fuselage debris struck the left wing of the TIE fighter chasing them. The spacecraft was forced to climb above the Mesa and momentarily abandon the pursuit.

Rey let out a small victory cry in Ben's direction. He was staring straight ahead, his face focused.

Ben's talent for flying was not the only thing that would get them out of this bad situation. The rest of the starfighters wouldn't let them go. It was time to start the fight and get rid of them.

"I'm going to the turret under the ship," she exclaimed. "Will you manage without a co-pilot?"

"Go," he replied without looking at her.

Then she dashed down the corridor, clinging to the walls, and took the ladder on her right to go down to the gunner bay. Once here, she settled into the chair and adjusted her headset. She grabbed the cannon controls and the seat swiveled to instantly obey her commands. On her viewing screen, the two _Manta_ fighters and the _B-wing_ MARK were still there.

A predatory smile stretched her lips and she started to fire.

OooooO

The situation was ridiculous, not to say unbelievable. He was piloting his father's wreck to escape the men hired by his own subordinates to kill him.

In spite of everything, Ben had to admit that the old freighter still had plenty of power under the hood.

When he had been old enough to do it, Han had allowed him to fly with him several times. He had seen the smuggler stamp his foot on the panel under the console to debug the cooling system, give three small punches – just in the corner, there, on the top left – on the radar when it refused to illuminate, pump on the handle of the auxiliary system, tape, screw, seal ...

In short, Ben had always wondered why Han still clung to this old thing that was only good for the junkyard.

But one thing was certain: every time he had climbed in the _Falcon,_ every time he had sat at the controls of his ship, his father had been happy.

"This baby is indestructible. And one day she'll be yours," he repeated to Ben incessantly.

Ben, at the time, hadn't cared that the freighter was falling apart, or that it would one day be his. All that mattered was being with his father and seeing him smile.

His eyes began to burn.

_Kriff ... It was not the moment to be sentimental._

He had to anticipate, concentrate, use all the help that the Force could bring him to put Rey in the best possible shooting conditions.

Suddenly, the _Falcon_ was shaken violently by laser fire. Ben prayed that no important systems had been destroyed.

"We've been shot!" Rey exclaimed on the comms.

"I noticed, yes!" Ben rasped. "What are you waiting for with the cannons?!"

A huge explosion suddenly sounded behind them and Ben heard the young woman gloat. She had shot down one of the _Manta_ hunters.

"You were saying?" she bragged defiantly.

Ben couldn't help but smile.

While negotiating a rather tight turn, he felt something against his boot and when he looked, he saw that the object was a small compressor. He looked up to see where the device might have fallen from and spotted a mishmash of wires protruding slightly from the ignition circuit above the co-pilot's seat. He supposed that the device previously connected here had been removed, even ripped off.

_Good thing. Connecting a compressor to the ignition line was completely silly. It would put too much stress on the hyperdrive ..._

Moreover, they would very quickly need all the power that the system could muster if they wanted a chance to get away from here.

They shot out over the Dune Sea. Rey was doing wonders in the turret. Her shots were forcing the last two hunters to dodge and were preventing them from aiming properly. Sylla's TIE was back in the race, but a slight trail of black smoke was escaping now from her damaged wing. She was not going to be able to continue very long. And this was confirmed when Ben heard Rey explode with joy again on the floor below.

"The TIE is out!"

The First Order starfighter was losing altitude and was soon far behind. There remained only two pursuers. The_ B-Wing_ fired a burst at them and the whole ship shook. Ben realized that the gun turret had been hit and the air left his lungs.

"Rey!" he called.

The five seconds of silence that followed seemed to him the longest of his life.

"Rey!" he yelled, this time completely panicked.

"I'm ok! The shock just knocked off my headset!"

His heart started beating again and he sighed with relief.

"We have to finish this!" Rey exclaimed then.

She was right. Ben tightened his grip on the controls. He inhaled deeply and cast his consciousness all around him, letting himself be carried by the currents of the Force. He extended his senses beyond the limits of the cockpit and soon reached the turret below. He felt Rey greet him with astonishment and his mind connected with hers. They could see through each other's eyes now, as if their bodies and the controls of the ship were now one and the same. Kylo turned around and the cannons were perfectly positioned in the axis sought by Rey. She pressed the fire button and the _B-wing_ was pulverized. When Ben activated the aero-brakes, the second _Manta_ fighter, carried away by its speed, found itself in front of them in the center of the scavenger's targeting scope. The missile she dropped on the ship made it explode in a sheaf of fire and incandescent scrap.

They were finally rid of all five enemy ships. Rey could not believe it. She was out of breath and still a little stunned by the joint effort between her and Ben. His presence in her head had been a strange and invigorating sensation, the exact opposite of the time he had forced himself into her mind to try to obtain the map. This time, they'd acted in symbiosis, each supporting the other, as if they had been made for that since forever ... Rey could not help but shudder.

"We did it," she stammered.

"Not yet," he replied. "We still have to manage to leave this planet without being atomized by the destroyer in orbit."

OoooooO

Sylla pulled herself out of her pilot seat and jumped down on the burning sand at the top of the dune where she had landed her TIE. She was furious. She needed to let off steam on somebody, and her gunner-copilot would do the trick. Kylo was about to get away and she couldn't accept that. She activated her comlink to contact the cruiser navigating in the space above them.

"Commander Palkott, we are in the Dune Sea area. A Corellian freighter will try to flee the planet. You must not let it escape. Destroy it! And if it goes to light speed, follow it!"

OoooooO

All the alarms had lit up at the same time. The cockpit was filled with flashes from all sides. A slight stream of white smoke escaped from the panel above Ben's head. He was frantically trying to attend to the most urgent issues on every corner of the dashboard. Leak in the cooling system, overload in the motivator, short-circuit in the lateral boosters ... They were going to be transformed into confetti before they were able to make the jump to light speed.

"Damned ship," he grumbled.

Rey's voice rang out suddenly: "What do I do? Do I go up?"

"No, stay down," Ben retorted, sitting back in his seat. "Some fighters could be waiting for us in orbit. Even if, for the moment, the sensors detect only one destroyer. C-3PO, do you confirm?"

"All my excuses, but even though I knew you when you were wearing diapers and hanging on the legs of our beloved Princess, I have now absolutely no desire to talk to the man who …"

"Threepio!" Ben snapped.

The droid realized it was not time to play dumb, so he hastened to answer simply, "A Resurgent-class destroyer, yes. Classic equipment: turbolasers, ion cannons and missile launchers."

Just at that moment, the gray silhouette of the ship appeared on their port side. Ben immediately initiated the light speed flight sequence.

"R2! What about the shields?"

The astromech announced that he had taken care of the front deflectors and that they would support travel at light speed. On the other hand, Ben knew that the dreadnought might be equipped with a hyperspace tracker. So wherever they went, the enemy ship would follow them.

"Rey, we're going to try to jump into hyperspace before they shoot us. But they may follow us with their tracker."

"Push the orange button at the top left of the dashboard! It's a scrambler developed by my friend Rose! They will not be able to follow us with that!"

Ben did it and the ship's computer started the trajectory calculations. In twenty seconds, either they would be scattered in small pieces above Tatooine, or they would finally be safe in a hyperspace tunnel. The cruiser's turbolasers fired. The _Falcon_ made a series of maneuvers to avoid the shooting.

"Everyone hold on!" Ben shouted.

He pushed the controller in front of him and the _Millennium Falcon_ suddenly disappeared from the radar of the First Order.

OooooooO

The air conditioning system of the ship was perfectly operational, yet the senior officer of the _Fellfire _was sweating profusely. He cleared his throat before nodding to the technician sitting in front of his console and waiting for his instructions. The communications channel with Tatooine opened:

"This is Commander Palkott." The officer's voice was a bit sharper than usual. "We had a little problem. The _Millennium Falcon_ escaped. It was apparently equipped with a scrambler that neutralized our hyperspace tracker. It was impossible for us to follow him."

Everyone on the ship's deck held their breath.

At the other end of the line, Sylla replied with a venomous tone: "Our Supreme Leader will certainly be very disappointed to hear that."

OooooooO

The blue beams of the hyperspace tunnel were streaming around them.

Rey burst into the cockpit with short breath and flaming cheeks. Some crazy locks had escaped from her buns, and she had a radiant smile. She was visibly still under the effect of the adrenaline running through her veins after their epic escape.

Ben found her beautiful, almost unreal.

"That was amazing!" she exclaimed, waving her arms in C-3PO style. "Did you see that? The Force was flowing through every part of me, and it was like I almost left my body! I really felt like I'd merged with the ship, with you, with the space all around us, with …"

She realized that Ben was staring at her, and the intensity of his gaze cut off her breath and her speech. In his dark eyes she saw a fire, a hurricane, an apocalypse, so she took a few steps back to escape the cataclysm. But Ben did not intend to let her run away this time. He got up from his seat and followed her. It was only when she found herself with her back against one of the cockpit control panels that she could see that he too was struggling to breathe and that several veins in his neck were throbbing violently against his skin. She was suddenly very hot, then very cold. She had sweaty hands and a confused mind. She shuddered when he raised his hand to put it against her cheek. His palm was warm and his fingers were soft. Ben caressed the freckles on her cheekbone with his thumb, and the heat emanating from his huge body wrapped around her delicately. She felt his dark and powerful aura forcing its way through her skin, her organs, her bones until it reached her soul. She offered up no resistance, and allowed herself to be invaded with delight. Then he leaned down slowly, and she held her breath. The Force was exulting to see them so close, to feel the shadow and the light dancing around each other, and the atmosphere all around them became electric.

Never had anyone kissed her before. She had several times surprised Rose and Finn kissing in the corner of a corridor, but she had not dared to approach the subject with one or the other, much less ask them for advice.

A little feverish, the young woman slipped her fingers into Ben's black locks, and he finally put his lips on hers. The kiss was shy and furtive, as if it was the first time for him too.

_Who would have thought that the terrible Kylo Ren could be capable of so much gentleness and restraint?_

Ben pulled away and looked at her again. He was waiting to see her reaction, and she realized that she wanted more. She wanted him to start again and she wanted it to last ... for a long time ... for always. If he didn't do it then she would take things in hand. So, she did not hesitate a second: she grabbed Ben's neck, and this time she crushed her mouth to his.

He responded instantly to her assault. His tongue tried to break through her lips and she let him in, moaning with pleasure. It was good – it was hot, sensual and so natural. Ben's hands were everywhere: sliding on her lower back, running over her hips, slipping down her thighs and back up to touch her breasts. The friction of their bodies was pure delight and Rey felt a liquid fire spread through her veins to concentrate between her legs. Desire was consuming her whole and obviously, Ben was feeling the same. His need for her was gloriously expressed through the fabric of his pants. The sensation of his erection rubbing against her core was exquisite. He kept her pressed against him forcefully, as if she might fly away. Rey squeezed the locks between her fingers harder. She had the impression that if she let go, her body would slowly rise to leave the floor of the ship and get lost in the cosmos. Her only anchor was Ben's mouth and his powerful arms hugging her. She felt that she could no longer survive without his tongue stroking hers, his hands on her body, the smell of his skin. If he continued to touch her, to kiss her like that, she was going to lose her mind. She couldn't hold in another groan of ecstasy, to which Ben responded by grabbing her arse with both hands and pulling her closer to deepen the friction between his pelvis and hers. It was divine, it was magic, it was ...

Several alarms from the cockpit began to scream simultaneously. The stridulations of R2-D2 and the lamentations of C-3PO resounded in the corridor, forcing Rey and Ben to separate abruptly and come down painfully from their little cloud. Still panting, they jerked away from each other before the droids appeared. C-3PO and R2-D2 began to talk at the same time with panic. Rey, whose cheeks and lips were still burning, raised her hands in their direction to tell them to calm down.

"Hey! Slowly! One at a time!"

The golden robot explained that the radiation from the ionization chamber of the hyperdrive would soon reach critical levels, and Ben went to check in the cockpit on the ship's viewing screen.

"He's right, the circuits must have been damaged during the battle. If we don't leave hyperspace right now, we are going to disintegrate," he mumbled.

He lowered the lever in front of him and a slight jolt indicated that the _Millennium Falcon_ had just left light speed.

"Survival systems also have failures," C-3PO continued. "The auxiliary generator and the thermoregulation module are also compromised. R2 says we absolutely have to land on the nearest planet to do repairs, otherwise we run the risk that these systems will actually stop working and we will die frozen inside this old freighter drifting in space."

Rey came to join Ben in the cockpit, and began to contemplate with him the ocher and green marbled surface of the little planet on their left.

"Where are we?" she asked.

Ben tapped his fingers on the dashboard, and the location system showed the map of the area.

"In the Mid Rim, a planet named Berith. It is uninhabited but viable."

Suddenly, multiple dashboard alarms began flashing red.

"I don't think we have much choice," she sighed. "We have to land here."


	17. CHAPTER 16

_Hi everybody ! Thank you for reading !_

**Base Haven-Planet Arbra- Outer Rim:**

All the main officers of the Resistance were gathered in the command room. Chewie was standing at the back and sulking in silence. He still hadn't processed the fact that Rey had left the base aboard the _Millennium Falcon_ without him. Leia had admitted to him that she'd sent the young woman on a mission with R2-D2 and C-3PO. Annoyed to learn that his faithful friend had preferred the two droids over him, the Wookie let out an irritated groan.

But for the moment, the general had other preoccupations than the moodiness of the furry giant. Communication with Derra had just been established and Maz's wrinkled face appeared in three dimensions above the holocom. Leia turned her head towards the entrance just as Poe entered the room to blend into the dim light. He also really had not appreciated Leia's secretiveness, so he was scowling just like Chewie.

"Hello to everyone, wherever you are!" the little orange-skinned woman exclaimed with a cheerful tone.

"Hello Maz, it's good to hear your voice," Leia replied. "I suppose you already know about the annexation of Naboo by the First Order, and that's why you're contacting us?"

"Indeed, I have some news. Leman Drill managed to escape the Hux's troops with some members of the royal council. He took with him all the files and data that could compromise the caches and identities of the Resistance allies. We received his distress message an hour ago. He is waiting for us at our checkpoint on M'haeli."

A sigh of collective relief ran through the audience.

"Very good Maz! Can you go find them as quickly as possible and bring them back to your base? I'll send someone to you on Derra to escort everyone here. Maybe Leman will be able to tell us more about what happened on Naboo?"

The humanoid creature's tiny nostrils twitched.

"No problem, Leia ... Oh, and if that 'someone' could be my dear and tender Chewie, that would be a great pleasure," she added wickedly.

The general and everyone around the table smiled at that as the communication was cut off, and the older woman glanced sideways at the Wookiee, who was still grumbling against the pillar. Poe, arms crossed over his chest and face closed, was about to leave the assembly when Leia hailed him.

"Captain Dameron, a word please!"

The general passed in front of him and the pilot followed her unenthusiastically to one of the next rooms. He closed the door behind them and forced himself to lift his head, unable to further hide his annoyance.

"Yes, General?"

"Glacial" was really the proper adjective to qualify the pilot's tone.

"Please, Dameron, how long are you going to sulk for?" Leia was livid.

"Oh, so you care about my opinion now?"

"You are a great pilot, Poe, but you can be so childish sometimes!"

"Me? I'm childish?"

"Yes you are ! I have already told you a hundred times that Rey's departure was necessary and I will explain everything in due time. But for now, you have to trust me, and trust Rey!"

"It's about Kylo Ren, isn't it?"

The question took Leia off guard, and for a brief moment she struggled to hold the captain's penetrating glare. She was searching for an answer when he immediately continued:

"I was sure of it. So, let me guess ... He appeared in one of their little private connections and assured her that it was not really him on the videos, so she rushed headlong into this fool's errand to find him and convince him to join the nice rebels? And you, of course, you gave your approval and organized the whole escapade!"

Poe certainly had a lot of flaws, but being a fool was not one of them. His assumptions were of course accurate and Leia looked down, resigned.

"Dameron …" she sighed.

"I see you're not denying it. Perfect. Are any other members of the staff aware of these arrangements?"

The general remained silent and Poe had his answer. Then, no longer holding back, he exploded.

"Damn it! It's insane! Do you realize what you've done?"

"Dameron, you're going beyond the limits!" Leia retorted, raising her head sharply.

Poe understood a little late that he had gone too far. He then ran a hand over his face to try to calm down.

"Pardon me, general."

Leia could see that he was very affected by the situation. And besides, how could she blame him? He was right. Nobody was aware of the initiative taken by the two women, and she did not intend to inform others before having heard from Rey and deciding what to do with Kylo Ren. Poe had to hold his tongue for now. Leia decided it was time to defuse the conflict and took a step towards the pilot to gently put her hand on his forearm.

"Poe, please. You know that the only thing that matters to me is the safety of everyone here. You also know that I have a lot of esteem and affection for you. So yes, Kylo Ren is my son. Yes, he is our enemy. Yes, Rey and I made a plan together and did not tell anyone. I'm so sorry. But imagine that she is right about him and that he is now in the crosshairs of the First Order. Imagine that she's getting information from him that could help us fight them, information about the new weapons they're building, or that she…"

"Or that she gets killed?" Dameron let out, holding the general's gaze.

The rebel leader replied with a sad smile.

"She is stronger than you think and maybe she can …"

"Leia." The pilot interrupted her again. His voice was a whisper, as if speaking lower would help to soften the harshness of the words he was about to pronounce. "Your son isn't coming back."

The general squeezed her fingers around Poe's arm a little harder.

"I know…" She was struggling against the tears trapped at the corners of her eyelashes. "But something good can come out of all this mess and all this suffering, something that will fuel the hope that one day the Resistance will prevail."

The pilot felt Leia's hand tremble and he capitulated. He hugged the older woman and put his chin on the top of her head.

"Okay, let's trust Rey," he conceded. "And I'm going to take Chewie with me to get the Naboo delegation on Derra. Leman Drill will be delighted to see a familiar face, and Maz will be happy to be reunited with her favorite Wookiee."

"Thank you, Poe," Leia said, wiping away the tear that had just slid down her cheek.

OoooooO

**Somewhere on Berith- Outer Rim :**

Rey was sweating and writhing as best she could to reach the damaged valve in the cooling module. She had nearly burned her calf twice against the big overheated pipe issuing a small jet of steam on her left, , which did not bode well. She stretched out her arm as much as she could and bit her bottom lip.

Another effort ... Phew! Done!

Her pants were stained with engine grease and her hair stuck to her forehead in sweaty locks by the time Rey was able to give a final turn of the wrench to this damn bolt, sealing the leak. She took a deep breath, wiped the hair off her face, and began to gather her tools one by one from the outside edge of the hatch through which she had come. Then she laid both hands flat on the edge and began to boost herself up. As she emerged, she saw Ben leaning against one of the walls of the room, staring at her.

The effect was the same each time he looked at her: something in her was vibrating and her heart was quickening.

Seeing that Rey had finally noticed him, he left his observation post to come to extend a hand to her. When she raised her own hand, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the hole. Carried away by her momentum, she found herself pressed against him and her hand clung instinctively to his shoulder to find balance.

Oh Maker, how could his eyes devour her that way, while she was sweaty, dressed like a scarecrow, and had grease on her face?

She felt herself blush – but maybe he would think she was just hot – when, with a slow gesture, he picked up the last wild locks of hair stuck to her cheek and slid them behind her ear. She could not help but close her eyes at his touch on her heated skin. She wanted to kiss him, as she had earlier ... And she felt that he wanted it too. But C-3PO and R2-D2 were checking the circuits in the nearby hold and could reappear at any time. She didn't want to explain to the droids why she was hanging on the lips of the so-called Supreme Leader of the First Order.

Ben kept her pressed against him. She took a deep breath and felt drunk on his deliciously masculine scent.

"Thanks," she murmured, shaking her head. "I've just finished with the cooling system module. I took care of the leak but I don't know if it will hold."

"I just checked the inertial compensator. The auxiliary circuit of the motivator is dead," Ben announced. "Now according to the scan of the planet, there is absolutely nothing here apart from old craters, some streams, insects, and rodents."

Berith was a viable planet, but not really very hospitable. They had landed on a barren moor, where the low vegetation, composed of shrubs with silvery foliage, was covering a bed of red slag and volcanic gravel. The monumental silhouette of a dormant volcano rose in front of them until it touched the sky, the summit disappearing in the clouds.

"Our stock of rations will allow us to hold out for a few days, but without spare parts we'll be stuck here for a while. I'm going to try to contact the Resistance to tell them where we are. If I'm successful, they'll send us help, and especially the parts we need to fix the _Falcon_."

Rey did not have time to finish her sentence before Ben stood up brusquely and turned to leave the common room.

"Ben, wait!"

He ignored her and walked towards the ramp. Rey managed to catch him as he exited the ship.

"You know that we have no choice!" she darted behind him.

"And what do you think your rebel friends will say when they come here and find me by your side? I won't let them take me prisoner without a fight!" he threatened.

Rey swallowed hard.

"I know …" was all she found to answer.

She had no idea what had happened on Haven after she left and how Leia had handled the situation. Had the general kept the secret? Or had she been forced to tell the truth to the other rebels, to Poe, Finn and Rose, about her trip to Tatooine in order to find Ben? And if so, how did they react? Leia was unquestionably their leader, but the members of the Resistance might not continue to follow her, knowing that she had endorsed Rey's plan to "negotiate" with the infamous Kylo Ren.

Anyway, Ben and she had their backs to the wall. The _Falcon_ was unable to fly and it was not possible to wait for a hypothetical ship to land on Berith to help them.

Ben's gaze softened when he saw the young woman sigh helplessly. A little hesitant at first, she finally approached him and put her hand over his heart and her forehead in the hollow of his neck. He breathed in the subtle scent of Naboo's flowers in her hair and wrapped his arms around her.

"If they try anything, I'll defend myself, Rey."

"I know ..." she repeated, closing her eyes.

OoooooO

**Base Haven-Planet Arbra- Outer Rim:**

Berith, in the Lannik system at the heart of the Mid Rim.

Rey had just contacted her from this planet. The transmission had been very bad but Leia had understood the point. The _Falcon_ needed repairs (apparently a motivator problem), Rey was fine and Ben was with her. They had escaped the First Order on Tatooine, which confirmed the young woman's theory: her son had been stripped of his status as Supreme Leader because Hux and his knights had turned against him. Leia did not know if she should laugh or cry. Her mother's heart had wanted to exult, but reason advised her to be careful and not to forget that as long as Kylo Ren lived, Ben Solo could never find the path to the Light.

As expected, Poe had gone to Derra with Chewie. The pilot had kept his word and said nothing to the others, but he had made Leia promise to reveal everything after returning to the base with Leman Drill.

But for now, Leia needed to send someone to Berith to help Rey and Ben.

OooooO

**Somewhere on Berith-Planet of the Outer Rim:**

The soft heat inside the cabin was soothing. The bunk was not large, but it was comfortable enough to recover from the fatigue accumulated during the last hours. And Rey needed a little sleep. She pulled off her shoes and stained pants, leaving only her underwear and top. She felt that she was slowly falling into dreamland when something soft came into contact with her thigh. Fingers were caressing her skin. She jumped slightly and was about to open her eyes when a deep, familiar voice stopped her.

"No. Keep them closed."

A massive body stretched out against her and she shifted a little to make room for him. The bold hand slid a little higher. Her breathing quickened and she shivered.

"Shhhh ..." She heard whispering against her ear.

_Ben. It was Ben. By all the suns of the galaxy ..._

He was touching her. He slowly went up between her legs and she was suddenly unable to think properly.

_Was he really going to ..._

She opened her mouth to form a silent "oh" when he reached her core and his thumb began to follow the lines of her lower lips through the fabric of her underwear. Then he went up again and his fingers slid under the hem of her underwear to continue their teasing back-and-forth movement against her folds.

_Kriff ..._

She had pleasured herself hundreds of times alone in her room on Haven or in her AT-AT on Jakku. But there, with him, it was so much better. She began to gasp. Her damp little bundle of nerves was pulsing like a heart under the caress of his index finger. The pleasure was shaking her body in waves, stronger and stronger. At the edge of ecstasy, she grabbed the hand that caressed her lower abdomen and ...

The temperature dropped suddenly. She opened her eyes sharply and struggled to understand what was happening. She was standing in the middle of a dark corridor, completely dressed, cheeks hot and sex still throbbing.

_No ... no ... no ... what the ... ?_

On both sides, there were metal doors with small round portholes. She stayed a moment without moving, still stunned by what was happening. It was not reality. Ben's caresses were not real either. It was a vision, or a dream.

_Damn it! Why did the Force have to do that to her?_

She finally decided to approach one of the doors and look through the glass: it was a space of just a few square meters, inside which she saw someone sleeping on a bunk against a wall. These rooms were cells ... She wanted to hit the glass to wake the prisoner when sudden footsteps sounded down the hall. A silhouette stopped in a circle of light spilling down from an opening in the ceiling. It was a magnificent woman in a long purple dress with delicate embroidery. Her abundant black hair had been meticulously worked to form an elaborate hairstyle on the top of her head and she was wearing a strange, crescent-shaped diadem. Rey could not clearly distinguish her face because of the backlight. She just noticed the strange way that her mouth was made up: her upper lip was tinged with red, and her lower lip was covered with white, with a scarlet vertical line drawn down the center of it. It was the traditional makeup of the Naboo queens. The figure reached for her and whispered softly, "My child."

Rey took a step in her direction. But all of a sudden, the light from the ceiling disappeared and the silhouette changed. In the shadows, instead of the queen, there now stood a figure dressed entirely in black and wearing the same kind of mask as Ben's.

_A Knight of Ren ..._

Rey jumped back. She was not armed and she was alone. She had to escape, and quickly! But when she turned to go back from where she came, she found only a gigantic wall that was blocking her way. Rey swiveled back and watched the individual slowly remove his metal helmet. A thin face was revealed with cold, piercing onyx eyes. The Knight was a woman and Rey quickly realized who she was dealing with: Sylla Ren. The amazon took a step forward, grabbed the saber attached to her belt and activated it.

"Kylo is mine ..." she hissed, glaring at Rey.

The scavenger raised an arm in front of her, hand extended.

_The Force was going to help her ... It had to._

She tried to concentrate but nothing happened. She felt the air all around her warming up once again, the scenery changed, and Sylla was not there anymore.

Rey was now in a kind of bubble-like space beside an old woman who was staring at her with bewilderment. This woman was wearing a simple beige dress, and a long braid of white hair was hanging down her shoulder. On the outside, everything was dark, except for very distant lights that sparkled like the flames of candles.

"Who are you?" Rey asked, more and more destabilized by all these encounters.

Instead of answering her question, the old woman stared at the scavenger's chest, on which the Nabooan brooch was fixed in plain view.

"Oh Maker, it's you ..." she murmured before her big, clear eyes caught on Rey's again.

Then the young rebel opened her eyes, out of breath. She was now sitting on her bunk and back aboard the _Millennium Falcon_.

For a few seconds she felt that something was throbbing against her chest, over her own heart. Her fingers dipped under the first layer of her tunic and met only the cold and inert metal of the brooch. She took a minute to recover her emotions, then she got up painfully and went to the small wash basin attached to the adjacent wall. The splash of fresh, cold water on her face made her feel much better.

_A dream ... it was just a dream ... Very nice at first and then ..._

Ben's caresses were a fantasy she often thought of. But Sylla, staking her claim on him and threatening her, was an unexpected discovery.

And the Naboo queen, the old woman ... What did that mean? All these people had seemed to know her, and she had no idea why.

_Get a grip, it's nothing…_

She took a deep breath, pulled on clean pants and her shoes, and left the cabin.

Her mind still misty and more disturbed than ever, she tumbled into the common room. She saw Ben sitting behind the dejarik console, inspecting his lightsaber, his briefcase wide open on the bench to his left. It still contained a lot of galactic credits, but also one of his black outfits. On the game board in front of him was a pair of small rectangular devices. When Ben looked up at her, his face darkened.

"Are you okay?" he asked, a little worried.

The young woman nodded. She thought of Ben's fingers between her thighs and her cheeks blushed.

"I just slept for a few minutes and I had a very strange dream …"

Leia's son winced.

"A dream… I see. You must have already realized that 'dreams' can be very special for Force users. Do you want to talk about it?"

Rey had the feeling that she had to keep all this to herself, and try to understand alone what all these images meant.

"Not really. Where are C-3PO and Artoo?" she eluded.

"They're finishing up the shield repairs."

"Very well," the young woman smiled and joined Ben on the bench.

She grabbed one of the two small boxes for a closer look.

"What is it?" She turned the object around and scowled as Ben was slow to answer.

He still did not trust her, she thought, but then he finally decided to explain:

"It's a cloaking device. The two you see here" – he pointed to each cube – "are the only prototypes made by the First Order. I borrowed them from one of Hux's labs on the _Finalizer_."

"A cloaking device, all right... And how does it work?"

"It allows a medium-sized ship to be undetectable by any sensor over a limited period of time."

"Are you kidding me?" she erupted. "How long?"

"It depends on the size of the ship. An hour, a day ... Hux did not see fit to launch its production on a large scale, because the First Order always attacks in a direct way, with great reinforcements of destroyers. Stealth missions have always been considered a waste of time."

"You mean that with this, on Tatooine, the _Falcon_ could have been invisible, and we could've escaped the First Order fighters and their cruiser without them noticing us? And it didn't occur to you to use your little gadget instead of letting them chase us and shoot at us?"

"They are for single use only. I took them in case of a really desperate situation."

Rey shifted the device a little too sharply on the table while glaring at him. At this precise moment, Ben smiled. The young woman could not believe her eyes, and her desire to grumble at him evaporated. He had a beautiful smile, and she realized it was the first time she had seen him lower his guard enough to express his contentment. Then Ben's eyes slid to her cleavage, where he had discerned the outlines of the brooch through the material of her tunic.

"You wear it now?" he asked.

So Rey detached the object from her top and gave it to him.

"Earlier, when I checked in my bag, I couldn't find it. It had slipped into the lining and I thought for a moment I'd lost it. I prefer to keep it on me from now on."

"Whatever was written on the back has been erased."

The young woman nodded.

"Have you ever seen a piece of jewelry like this before? Maybe when you were a child? During a visit to Naboo?"

"In fact, when I was a kid I spent a lot of time on Naboo waiting for Leia. I've seen many people wearing this kind of brooch, including the queen. But as you can imagine, I had other concerns at that time than the latest trends in royal wardrobe. Besides, what makes you think that this object really belonged to your father?"

"I don't know ... I have this strange feeling that it was his. Either someone gave it to him, or he stole it, or he inherited it from someone, because obviously he was never part of any royal council himself!"

"So are you the descendant of Naboo royalty, Rey from Jakku?" Ben quipped.

Slowly, he slid along on the bench to get closer to her and give her the brooch back. She took the jewel from his fingers, and Ben tilted his head to brush her earlobe. Then he hesitated a moment before laying a kiss against her temple.

They were once again alone in the world. Ben's warm breath against her cheek made her shudder. The tip of his nose caressed her cheekbone and he slid his hand over her knee.

Rey wanted him to continue – she wanted it badly. Like in her dream. But the harsh and threatening words of Sylla resounded again in her head.

"Tell me about Sylla," she asked abruptly.

Ben reacted as if she had just hit him in the face. He drew back sharply, looking a little panicked. For a brief moment, he tried to answer but failed to do it. So she decided to help him.

"Were you…together?"

She saw him hesitate and lower his eyes to his lightsaber resting on the table.

"If by 'together' you mean physical relations, then the answer is yes."

He stared at his weapon for several seconds before raising his head to fix his dark eyes on hers.

_Did he expect her to explode? To make him a scene? Why would she do that? Damn it! Why had she asked the question? Of course he had known other women before meeting her! Sylla was a gorgeous woman, and the two of them had known each other since childhood. They'd spent several years training together, and had joined Snoke together. They had both given everything to the Dark Side ..._

"Physical relationships do not necessarily imply feelings …" Ben hastened to add.

Each word had been chosen with the utmost care to try to minimize the pain he was inflicting on her. But a sharp point was now sinking deeply into her heart.

Silence settled, a little too long.

"If you say so," she retorted finally, before biting her upper lip and leaving the bench.

"Rey …" Ben called out as she walked away.

The scavenger's eyes began to burn and she tried to hide her emotions, but she wasn't very good at it. She rushed to get her bag out from under the bunk on the other side of the room. She came back with it, put it on the bench, and pulled out the two pieces of Luke's saber.

"Why can't I fix it?"

A little taken aback, but relieved that Rey didn't want to dwell more on the issue with Sylla, Ben ran his hand through his hair and looked at the fragments of the broken weapon.

"I think it's because of the shock wave we experienced in the throne room. One or more kyber crystals inside have been destroyed. You need new ones and …"

"I've got them," she cut him off, putting the halves of the lightsaber on the table and rummaging around in her bag once again before pulling out a trio of blue and white crystals. She cast them down on the tray in front of him with a gesture a little too abrupt.

"I read the instructions provided by the Jedi texts. I followed each of them to the letter and nothing happened. I can't connect to the crystals to activate them."

Her voice was shaking slightly now. Ben was not stupid. He would inevitably guess that her roiling emotions had nothing to do with her inability to repair Luke's sword.

He stared at her again and she could not help but swallow hard as she knew he had always deciphered all the signs.

"Rey ... About Sylla, I …"

"Why can't I activate them?" she insisted by foiling his attempt.

Ben finally surrendered and sighed before answering, "To activate the crystals and make the saber fully operational, a Jedi or Sith must be at peace with himself and with the Light or Dark Side that inhabits him. He must have no doubt, no fear …"

"So how did you manage to build yours?"

OK. She had touched a sore spot and she knew it. Ben flashed a wry smile at her this time.

"You notice that the flow of my saber is unstable. I cheated."

"What? I don't understand."

"I used all my power to bend the crystals to my will. One of them cracked and that's why the blade crackles so much."

"And that's also why your beam is red? Because a crystal is cracked?"

"No. It's just because the crystals in my saber were part of a larger block found on Malachor. A very special giant crystal. It was Snoke who gave the fragments to me when I became his apprentice."

"But I thought you already had a saber when you were Luke's padawan."

"Just a training saber. I didn't take it with me when I left."

The atmosphere suddenly became heavier.

"Maybe I can try to do the same? Force the crystals to bend, I mean …"

Ben let out a nervous laugh.

"Take my advice, and don't do that."

The young woman's jaw tightened, and Ben realized that he had once again made a mistake. So he decided to calm things down by explaining further.

"Every time I fight an opponent, I fight not only against him but also against the crystals inside my own weapon. When a Sith knight or a Jedi has managed to merge his energy with his saber's, he establishes a very special and unique link between them."

"You're speaking of these weapons as if they have a will of their own."

"That's just it. If a lightsaber accepts being led by the person who handles it, then it becomes one with its owner – it becomes an integral part of his body, like an extension of his arm. This is a considerable advantage during a fight."

"But how do I do that?"

"You must be in perfect harmony with yourself, with your beliefs and with the path that you have chosen to follow."

"So you're telling me that if I can't connect to these crystals it's because I'm not 'in harmony' with my Light Side?"

Rey's features hardened and Ben got up to face her.

"Or your Dark Side …" he added.

"Ben, stop …" The scavenger was staring at her boots now.

"I'm not trying to convert you to anything anymore, but I want to remind you that you asked for my opinion, and I'm giving it to you. I think you still feel incomplete, that you're still missing something …"

"I have discovered the truth about my parents and …"

"You don't know everything yet. There are still too many gray areas in your past and that's why you cannot find peace."

Rey looked up at him and Ben hesitated a second. She was so beautiful and sad.

"And about Sylla …"

"It's OK, Ben, I understand."

"No, listen, I'm so sorry because I can't erase what happened between her and me."

He was standing in front of her without moving, his dark irises burning. Every time he looked at her like this, she felt like he was the only person who could fully understand her. The knot in her throat loosened, and her muscles finally relaxed.

Without warning, she pulled herself up on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around his neck and captured his upper lip between hers. She felt him shiver against her and saw him close his eyes, as if he wanted to engrave in his memory this new moment of intimacy. He moaned softly against her mouth and his hand moved from between her shoulder blades to gently go up to the back of her neck.

But suddenly, the whirring of a ship's reactors came to disrupt their embrace. They stared at each other for a moment with a surprised look before heading to the cockpit. Through the window, they witnessed the landing of a shuttle just in front of the _Millennium Falcon_. As soon as the ship touched the ground, Ben rushed into the corridor. Rey recognized one of the Resistance transports, and she did not know if she should jump out of joy or fear for Ben's life.

OoooooO

"Finn …"

"What!"

"Stop making that face, please," Rose muttered.

"What face?"

Their shuttle had just come out of hyper-space and the little volcanic planet appeared behind the cockpit window. Rose switched on the atmospheric input controls, and then turned to face the former stormtrooper.

"I hope you're not going to do something stupid …"

"Like what? Blast him in the head?" the young man retorted.

The little brunette rolled her eyes.

"Listen, just like you, I want to see him pay for everything he did …"

Finn's jaw was tight and Rose could feel her companion's hatred radiating throughout the cabin.

"... but for now, we just have to think about Rey. We've got to rescue her from this bad situation and bring her back to the base! And then there's nothing preventing us from letting Kylo Ren languish on this planet for the rest of his life."

Soon, they had the _Millennium Falco_n in their sights, and Finn pushed a couple of controls to start their descent. When the landing gear came into contact with the stony ground of the moor, he grabbed the blaster near his seat and stood up suddenly to exit the cockpit.

"Finn!" Rose yelled and jumped out of her own chair to follow him.

OoooooO

"Rey!" Finn was sprinting towards the Corellian freighter, calling for his friend

He stopped when he saw Kylo Ren slowly descend from the _Falcon_ ramp, his saber crackling in his hand and an expression of dull anger on his face. A little caught off guard, Finn raised his blaster and fired at Leia's son. Rose came running, armed with a laser rifle, and screamed at the ex-stormtrooper.

"Finn! Wait!"

Ben used his lightsaber to deflect the bolts, then reached out to sweep the two rebels off their feet and throw them ten yards back. The situation would certainly have continued to escalate if Rey had not stepped in without hesitation to intervene between her friends and Ben. As Finn and Rose got up painfully, and Finn was about to shoot again, the scavenger yelled:

"No! Please! All of you stop now!"

"Get out of there Rey!" Finn yelled.

But the young woman did not move. She had her arms spread out in front of Kylo Ren, as if protecting him of all people! Finn had promised Leia that he wouldn't do anything stupid, but he had lied. It was out of the question to miss the opportunity to finally rid the Resistance of their worst enemy. He stared open-mouthed at Rey, an expression of deep incomprehension on his face. Suddenly Rose came to grab his arm and he startled a bit in shock.

"Finn, stop …" she repeated.

But the young man obviously did not want to listen at all. Not to mention the fact that his irrepressible fury was also echoed in Ben's dark eyes.

"Go ahead, FN-2187, do me a favor and shoot!" Ben openly challenged him.

"No problem, Monster!"

Finn pointed his blaster at him again and suddenly Rey exploded.

"That's enough!" she exclaimed.

Finn's blaster and Ben's lightsaber slipped out of their fingers to land in Rey's. The young woman was out of breath as the two men looked with amazement at their now-empty hands. Rey re-engaged the security of Finn's weapon and extinguished the saber.

A flurry of wind lifted the brown dust from the ground as everyone waited to see who would react first. Rey took a deep breath before beginning.

"I have a lot of explaining to do," she said to Finn and Rose. "And I also owe you an apology."

Rose lowered her rifle and grumbled. "We're getting used to it ..."

Rey accepted the remark without flinching and continued: "And I'd like to do it before you kill each other, if that's possible?"

Finn's fiery gaze caught Ben's eye again.

"Very well," the young rebel gasped. "Tell us everything."

OoooooO


	18. CHAPTER 17

**Chapter 17**

**Base Haven-Planet Arbra- Outer Rim:**

"Poe! What happened? Where are Leman Drill and the rest of the people of Naboo?" the general asked.

The pilot had just burst into the command room, his face grave, followed by Chewbacca and BB-8. He rubbed his forehead before speaking to convince himself that this was not all just a terrible nightmare.

"They're dead," he gasped as he dropped into one of the chairs next to Leia's.

All the rebels in the room froze in horror.

"What?" the princess gasped.

Chewie confirmed Poe's words with a mournful tone.

"But I don't understand!" she stammered. "Maz's men …"

"They're dead too."

Leia's heart skipped a beat. Oh Maker, she would not survive long if she had to constantly hear such news. The pilot seemed to pull himself together and recounted his story.

He and Chewie had landed on Derra near Maz's checkpoint to find only a field of ruins. Everything had been ransacked and corpses littered the ground. Mercenaries and Naboo civilians had been massacred without mercy. After inspecting the bodies, they found no survivors, and no trace of the small orange-skinned woman. On the other hand, they had discovered the body of Leman Drill in one of the rooms of the complex. He was dead too, his face swollen and purplish. Chewie had recognized the effects of a very powerful poison extracted from an animal called a Gorm-worm. He had leaned over to inspect the emissary, and had noticed that he was still wearing Megarana's ring.

Dameron pulled the piece of jewelry from one of his pockets and handed it to Leia. The general, on the verge of tears, looked at him for a long time, then rose from her seat, leaning heavily on her cane. She then pressed one of the small stones mounted on the side of the ring before depositing it on the surface of the holocom in front of her.

An image of the camp appeared on one of the screens fixed on the wall, facing them. Poe then realized that the ring was equipped with a micro-camera, and that Leman Drill had recorded everything that had happened on Derra.

The First Order troops had landed shortly after their return from M'haeli and had started executing everyone. Leman was hidden near one of the windows of the main building. Maz's men had resisted at first, but they had soon been overwhelmed. The scene now showed the tall figure of a man in a long black coat with a lightsaber who forced Maz to kneel in the middle of the yard and commanded her to tell everything she knew about the Resistance, or she would see her men shot one by one. He was one of the Knights of Ren, and when the camera zoomed in on the stranger's face, everyone had a clear glimpse of his red skin streaked with black patterns and the spiky horns on his head. Maz's companions were executed but the little woman remained standing there silently, eyes closed, waiting for her turn to come. When there were no more men standing, the Zabrak ordered that the prisoner be seized and lead to a transport shuttle. Then Maz had been escorted away by a quartet of stormtroopers.

"She may still be alive," Larma D'Acy whispered.

"They will not kill her right away. They took her to try to make her talk, make her give up information about us. They'll torture her for that," the general explained, her voice broken.

The video continued and the resigned face of Leman Drill appeared suddenly on the screen. The emissary addressed them directly.

"Leia, I am deeply sorry! I think they followed us when we escaped from Naboo. This is all my fault. There, Theed fell as well as Otoh Gunga. The First Order launched a whole battery of missiles at the lake. King Miggi Tan, his emissary Beccar Dugg and a good part of the Gungan people were able to flee before the arrival of the troops, and took refuge not far from the capital city. We must count on them now. They are safe and undetectable because of their shield, but if they try to contact you, they will be discovered. Hux probably thinks they're dead."

The image jumped abruptly to a new scene. Leman was running along a dark corridor — they could all hear his ragged breathing, along with the cries of soldiers commanding him to stop. Then, Leman's face reappeared, displaying now a sad smile.

"I beg your pardon, Leia. Keep courage and hope. And may the Force be with you."

A tear ran down the general's cheek when she saw the emissary swallowing a small red pill just before a squad of stormtroopers began firing on him from behind. It was then that the recording stopped.

OooooO

**Royal Palace- Theed- Planet Naboo:**

Today was going to be another beautiful sunny day. From the small balcony of his new room, Armitage Hux was contemplating the tumultuous waterfall that adjoined the palace and the sparkling ribbon of the river that snaked between the trees at the bottom of the valley.

Everything here was beautiful and majestic. Annexing Naboo was not such a bad idea. His troops had taken possession of the capital and all other major cities of the continent without much trouble. The Naboo were not warriors and the Gungans had not had enough strength to resist them. They had bombed Otoh Gunga and annihilated this primitive and insignificant people. There was nothing left but a crater dried up and smoking in the place of the lake.

Armitage Hux was now the new governor of Naboo, and if Elias Ren only had eyes for his gloomy temple on Malachor, he was more than happy to spend some time in this luxurious place that fit perfectly with his ideas of greatness.

Someone knocked on the door and the soldier saw the frail, frightened figure of one of the Queen's maids slipping through a crack in the door.

"I ... I'm sorry, General. But Lord Viri Pax is waiting for you in the throne room."

The young woman's eyes were downcast and all her limbs were trembling as she waited for the general to dismiss her. Hux smiled condescendingly before answering.

"Perfect. You may go now."

When he arrived in the sumptuous room with imposing columns and a pink marble floor, Viri was standing near the desk in front of the large glass arch, waiting for him.

"That was quick!" Hux blurted out without preamble. "Did you succeed?"

The Zabrak watched the military man sit on the throne in front of him.

"Leman Drill led us on a merry chase all the way to Maz Kanata's base, but he killed himself before we could question him. However, Kanata is currently in the basement of the palace."

Hux's face lit up.

"Excellent! We have only to 'persuade' her to tell us the location of her rebel friends."

A sadistic smile appeared on Viri's face. "I'll do it," he announced before turning on his heels and walking out of the room.

As soon as the Knight of Ren passed the door, Hux noticed that one of his officers was pacing outside.

"Ah Mitaka, it's you! Come here!" he exclaimed, waving his arm to catch the lieutenant's eye.

The man instantly crossed the threshold and hastened over to him. He held a holopad against his chest and something in his left hand. Once standing in front of Hux, he gratified his superior with a quick military salute.

"General, I managed to find the recordings of the _Finalizer_'s throne room for the date you indicated."

The officer handed Armitage a small memory card.

"Perfect," he said in thanks. He opened a nearby drawer and deposited the card next to the blaster that was lying there. "Tell me Mikata... Did you have a look at these recordings?" Hux asked with a studied air of detachment.

"Oh no sir, I did not have the time because ... Well I thought I had to talk to you about another little ... problem with our base on Diyu."

Hux's hand remained suspended above the weapon. Mitaka had suddenly piqued his curiosity.

"I'm listening."

This time, the lieutenant handed him the holopad.

"I know that you have commanded the reconstruction of the facilities destroyed by the Resistance on Diyu. But, uh ... my brother is working there and apparently, our Supreme Leader has given a totally different order from yours. The generator plant has been replaced by a new laboratory."

"Replaced by a new laboratory …"

Hux had just stupidly repeated Mitaka's last words back to him, and now he was standing there gaping at him like an idiot with big round eyes. The general roused himself and pasted a big, forced smile on his face.

"Yes! Yes of course, Lieutenant, I know! Our Supreme Leader has informed me only very recently."

His stammering reply seemed to reassure Mitaka.

"Oh very well, General, I apologize for wasting your time. I ... May I be excused?"

Hux nodded and Mitaka headed for the exit.

Once alone, the redhead turned on the holopad and scanned the various files. His fake smile had stiffened, and his composure was slowly slipping as he became aware of the contents.

The program "Black Stars" abandoned ... An underground laboratory opened several hundred kilometers from the destroyed plant, in operation for two months already ... Technicians and researchers transferred from his own teams to work on this secret project….

_Damn it, what was that blasted Elias Ren doing behind his back?_

OoooooO

**Somewhere on Berith-Planet of the Outer Rim :**

The discussion had gone relatively well considering the fact that no one was dead yet. Rey had told Finn and Rose everything that had happened to her since her departure, including her reunion with Ben after his four months spent on Tatooine, and their flight aboard the _Falcon_.

Ben watched Rey plead his cause with passion, even though he doubted that her words could change the poor opinion the two rebels had of him. He had seen Finn raise his arms to the sky while exclaiming, "You sound just like General Organa!" — which had rather surprised him. He could hardly imagine his mother defending him or looking for extenuating circumstances after all he had done.

When it was their turn to speak, Finn and Rose told them about the fall of Naboo. Fortunately, the emissary Leman Drill was safe and sound, and ready to join Maz.

Everyone was now up-to-date on the latest news and Rose had decided to inspect the ship and take an inventory of the damage. She had gone to the generator room and Ben had fled, too, on the pretext of having heard enough.

Now alone in the crew cabin, he could hear Rey's and FN-2187's loud voices continuing their heated conversation in the common room. He managed to overhear snippets in which the terms "assassin," "killed his father," and "evil man" kept coming back. The two young people were arguing over what was the right way to handle him.

So he made a decision: he had to leave this place.

His plan was very simple: he was going to take the Resistance shuttle and nobody would stop him. He would use force if necessary. He would then look for another isolated and quiet planet to hide and think about what to do next. He was about to abandon Rey one more time, but he had no choice. She was not ready to give up the Resistance and their stupid crusade against the First Order.

And what about him? Did he still want to take revenge on Hux, Elias, Sylla and the others?

He let out a long sigh, grabbed his bag and his lightsaber, and left the cabin.

OoooooO

Rose was crouching in the shuttle's hold when she heard someone walking up the ramp. She had just completely disassembled the cooling system and wiped her hands with a cloth before going out to see who had joined her. In the main cabin, she came face to face with Ben. He obviously did not expect to find her there. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose noticed the large canvas bag he had put on one of the passenger seats, but she kept her face neutral.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"What are _you _doing here? I thought you had to take care of the _Falcon_?"

He was nervous and Rose realized that he was not here to help out. He was up to something — she could feel it. So she hastened to answer.

"The motivator wasn't the only thing damaged. The spare parts we brought with us won't suffice, so I'll have to use several items from this transport shuttle in order to do the repairs. I have already extracted a good part of the cooling system here to replace the damaged module on the freighter. Which means that when I'm done, we'll be able to leave the planet aboard the _Millennium Falcon_, and the shuttle will stay here."

Ben's jaw tightened.

_Had she just disrupted his plans? Perfect ... _Rose was now jubilant to see him so upset. _God, she wanted to hit him so badly! _She wanted to make him pay for all the suffering that the First Order had inflicted on the people she loved. On Poe, on Finn, on her friends who died in battle, on Paige …

Kylo Ren was standing a few feet away and was staring at her intently. She should have been scared, been intimidated. Yet at that moment she was not. She dared to take a step towards him, put her hands on the tool belt around her waist and raised her chin to him.

"Since you're here, I have a question for you. Why did you have the miners slaughtered on Hays Minor?" she asked blankly.

Ben held her hateful gaze. He searched for a few moments in his memory for what she could be alluding to, and finally recalled the fateful day when Viri Pax had joined him on the _Finalizer_.

"I did not order that execution."

"A hundred and sixty-two innocents were put to death. For nothing."

"One of my knights was there. He alone made the decision to …"

"Don't tell me that you weren't aware of what he was about to do! This brute was under your command, right?"

"Technically, no. He didn't know yet that I had taken Snoke's place."

The brunette really did not seem to appreciate his pathetic explanation. He saw her clenched her fists as if she was about to punch him one in his face.

"You don't care about people," she spat. "You are no better than Snoke or Hux or that band of knights who now lead the First Order. You're even worse. Rey is completely mistaken when she says that there's still good in you."

The former "him" would have killed this girl without the slightest hesitation, even before she'd opened her mouth. But today, there was that voice in his head, which had replaced Snoke's, and which sounded like Rey's ... a voice that managed to soften his rage and anger. So Ben let it go, and decided that it was wiser to retreat for the moment.

"I've already heard all that you and your friend think about me, earlier, so it's useless to remind you that a lot has happened to me in the past four months. And I'm sorry to contradict you, but: I do care."

He then turned to the seat to pick up his bag, but Rose called out to him again in an inflammatory tone.

"Fine! So tell me Kylo Ren! Who do you care about, huh? Obviously not your mother who is the only family you have left! Not the Resistance, Finn or me! I wonder why Rey seems to be the only one who deserves your consideration."

Something passed in Ben's eyes that Rose interpreted as embarrassment. His cheeks flushed and he lowered his head to hide his confusion. At this, the expression on the brunette's face changed completely. She was staring at him in amazement.

"By all the stars in the galaxy," she gasped. "Do you have feelings for her?"

Ben's mouth suddenly became terribly dry and he tried to swallow the saliva he did not have.

"What are you talking about?"

His voice had trembled and he was starting to panic. He grabbed his bag and swiveled toward the exit. When he looked up, Rose was blocking his way and he felt like he was facing someone who had just unlocked the secret of the greatest mystery of the universe.

"I'm talking about Rey," she insisted. "Are you in love with her?"

Rose was speechless now, as even she was struggling to comprehend the magnitude of what she was asking. He was not going to answer — he could not answer. And suddenly he realized it was useless, because this girl had already guessed. The bewilderment on her face quickly gave way to disbelief, because she obviously had trouble believing that a monster like him could ever love anyone.

She was about to question him again when Finn's voice echoed in the comlink on her wrist.

"Rose! Come join us quickly! We have a call from the base!"

OooooO

When Ben burst into the common room a few seconds after Rose, the former stormtrooper shot him a murderous look. Rey appeared defeated and the droids stood still and silent in the corner.

"He does not need to be here," the young man protested, pointing to Ben.

"Finn, he knows about the base on Arbra," Rey retorted.

Finn's jaw tensed, and Ben wondered who would address them in the com. Rose continued to cast ambiguous glances at him that made him uncomfortable.

Rey started the communication system and then confirmed her identity and location.

Hearing his mother troubled Ben much more than he would have thought. After all these years, he discovered that she still had that proud, clear voice that was capable of moving the masses, of convincing the most recalcitrant minds, and of giving hope to those who had lost it. But Ben could also feel sadness and weariness in her words when she announced the death of Leman Drill and the capture of Maz by a Zabrak knight who had taken the alien to Naboo. The news hit them like a punch in the gut, and Rey turned her head to Ben with wide, questioning eyes.

"It's Viri Pax," he said out loud.

A deathly silence settled in the room and Ben realized one thing: it was the first time in years that his mother was hearing the sound of his voice.

"Ben …" Leia murmured through the channel in a feverish tone. This word, intended for him alone, struck him in the heart. He remained frozen on the spot, his fists and throat tight. He was not looking at anyone, just at the control panel facing him as if it was the most fascinating thing in the galaxy. He saw himself, at the controls of his _TIE silencer_ ready to fire on the _Raddus_, and then on _Starkiller_ oscillator's metal bridge. He had murdered his father, and he had nearly killed his mother, too. How could Leia recognize the voice of the vile man he had become? Then, almost on the verge of tears, he felt Rey's mind connect with his, her voice echoing in his head. She whispered to him that he was not dreaming, that his mother had not forgotten his name, that she still saw him as her son, that she still believed in his redemption.

Finn and Rose were silent, not only because they were still processing the news of Maz's capture, but also because they were aware that this moment was special.

But suddenly, Poe's voice echoed through the loudspeaker. He and several other rebels had evidently joined Leia, and a rather stormy discussion seemed to have started in the command post on Arbra.

"Rey, can you hear me? It's Poe."

Rey took her eyes off Ben and answered.

"Yes Poe, what is it?"

"Is It true? Is he with you?"

"Do you mean Ben?"

"I'm talking about Kylo Ren," he replied dryly.

"So Leia told you about our plan," she continued, knowing full well that she was making things worse, but Poe's condescension was becoming unbearable.

"She certainly did. But she didn't tell you everything that's happened here since you left. Leia is no longer in charge of the Haven base," Dameron declared.

Finn let out a spontaneous "what?", while Rose remained speechless and unresponsive.

"What do you mean?" Rey cast an alarmed glance at Ben, who was standing by the door next to Rose.

She could see his brain working at full throttle. He was just analyzing every piece of information to see what his options might be.

"Leia, is it true? Did they take command of the base away from you?" she asked, assuming that Ben's mother was still near the holocom.

"It is, Rey," the old woman answered sadly. "I prepared for this event the second you left Arbra. I fully understand their decision."

"But Leia, you …"

Poe cut her off. "Leia and you went behind our backs and acted without our consent. You have put us in danger, whether you realize it or not. All members of the base have voted, and we think it's wiser that Leia not be the only decision maker here anymore. Commander D'Acy and I will now have a say in things."

Rey could not repress the wave of anger that came over her at that moment.

"You got what you wanted, didn't you, Poe?"

She knew it was unfair to say that. Poe had never been power-hungry, and he had always respected Leia more than anyone. But she was furious and hurt, and she was letting her rage and frustration speak for her. Finn glared at her and called her to order:

"Rey. Stop."

Poe's voice, calm and imperturbable, was heard again on the communication channel, "Rey, did you manage to convince Ren to help us? That's why you left in the first place, right?"

Ben let out a cold and sarcastic chuckle that just confirmed what Poe had believed all along: that this whole mission had been doomed to failure from the very beginning.

"Poe, it's more complicated than you think …" Rey, despite her best efforts, had been unable to find any arguments to convince him otherwise.

"I see," he sighed. "In that case, you guys finish repairing the _Falcon_ and return to the base, with or without him. But he must understand that as soon as he sets foot on Arbra, he will be our prisoner."

Ben was ready to respond to the pilot, but Finn was faster.

"Poe, what do you plan to do for Maz?"

There followed a long silence, which did not bode well.

Rey and Finn looked at each other, more and more worried. They then turned to Rose, and finally everyone, even Ben, was staring at each other while waiting for Poe's answer.

"Nothing for the moment," he finally said. "Our hands are tied. She's on Naboo,which is currently occupied by First Order soldiers. Half of their armada is there, and Hux has settled in the palace in Theed. He's made it his new headquarters."

Ben rolled his eyes and clenched his teeth.

"Nothing? You're just going to leave her in the hands of the First Order without attempting anything? Poe, they'll kill her!" Rey's frustration had risen another notch.

"I said nothing for now, Rey! Of course we will try to save her, but we'll have to wait for reinforcements! It would be suicide to launch a rescue operation on Naboo now!"

Rose was still standing by the door, her face defeated. Finn lowered his head and found nothing to answer. Rey looked for some comfort from the droids. R2-D2 made three small beeps and flashed its lights to indicate that he understood her dismay, while C-3PO just let out a sigh.

"What do our allies say?" the young woman asked, desperate now.

"I cannot talk about it now, Rey, so please, come back to Haven. We'll discuss it once you're here and we'll think about what we can do to get Maz."

The words of the pilot sounded wrong, but Rey just didn't know what to think anymore. Since when had Poe Dameron become reasonable? Since when did he retreat before a fight? Maz had done so much for them, for her. She could not let her down. Just as she could not ask Ben to follow them meekly to Haven. He would never accept this. Besides, she could read his decision at that moment in his eyes. He was not going to let himself be dragged to Arbra without a fight

They had returned to the starting point, which was a dead end.

"We're also reporting the presence of First Order cruisers in the system where you are, the same ones that dropped lookout droids on Arbra. You must leave Berith, and quickly. I beg you Rey, please don't make things harder than they already are. You know very well that …"

They did not have the opportunity to hear the end of Poe's sentence. The young woman had just pressed the control button in the middle of the panel behind her to cut the communication. Her hand was shaking and she was struggling to contain the flow of conflicting emotions roiling inside her. She looked up at Ben, worried about how he would react now. And as she suspected, he moved to the center of the room and announced unsurprisingly:

"I'm not going to Arbra."

"Ben, please …" Rey tried.

"Are you kidding me?" he shouted violently. Finn already had his hand on the blaster attached to his thigh, and Rey was going towards him with her hands up as if to tell him to keep his cool. "No! Do you really believe that-"

He did not finish his sentence either. Rey suddenly saw an arc of blue lightning flash from behind him, and Ben fell to the ground. Rose was now standing over him with her electric prod in her hand. Her face was so serious and determined, even though two tracks of tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Rey darted toward Ben, to check that he was still breathing.

"Rose! What did you do?!"

"Don't worry, he's just knocked out," she responded. "He'll wake up in two or three hours. I didn't use the maximum voltage."

Rey dropped her fingers to his hair and tried to get in touch with him again through the bond, but she found that Ben was truly unconscious. She was reassured to feel the strong and regular beating of his heart.

Rose was watching them in silence.

It was unreal. It was against all logic. These two were in love ... It was so obvious now. Rose did not know what to do with this information, but she wanted to trust Rey. She suddenly wanted to believe that maybe there was still hope of turning Kylo Ren to the light side. She wanted once again to listen to the little voice in her heart that had always told her that we should save what we love ...

"He's coming with us," Rose added, sniffing and wiping her face with her sleeve. "We won't let him languish here. And anyway, he may be useful for what we have to do."

Rey raised her head to look at her. Rose caught her hazel eyes, and then Rey knew that she had discovered what was going on between her and Ben.

"Taking him with us? You're not serious, Rose!" Finn snapped back. "What could he possibly be useful for, aside from wanting to cut us to pieces now that you've electrocuted him?"

But it was Rey who answered in Rose's place, the two women now clearly showing their complicity.

"He'll be useful because we're not going back to Arbra right not. We're going to Naboo."

The little brunette nodded and smiled. Finn swept the air in front of him, waving his arms.

"No, no, no, no ... We are not. I know both of you really care about Maz. She helped you a lot, Rey, and you, Rose, you're grateful because she saved your friends from Hays Minor. I care about her, too. But it's not a reason to throw ourselves into the wolf's mouth on Naboo and attempt a desperate rescue. On that one, I agree with Poe. And then you heard what he had said: the First Order has more than half of its fleet orbiting the planet. I would like to help her. I really would. But it's suicide! What's more with this one, on the ground, who will not appreciate at all to be led in a secret rebel camp on a planet occupied by Hux's troops! It's a very, very bad idea. And then, how do you want us to land on Naboo without being detected?"

Rey looked down at Ben's body at her feet. "Don't worry about that. I've got an idea…"

Rose sniffed again. She was staring intently into his eyes now, her round face so endearing and passionate that Finn knew he would give way soon.

"Where is the brave man who was ready to rush headlong onto the _Supremacy_ to try to save the Resistance? I fell in love with that man. You are that man, Finn."

The former stormtrooper capitulated with a sigh. He put his hand on her cheek and wiped the tears from the corner of her eye with his thumb. Then he kissed her lips before putting his forehead against hers.

Rey smiled. These two were adorable.

"Okay. Let's get Maz out of this mess," Finn announced firmly and solemnly.


	19. CHAPTER 18

**CHAPTER 18**

**On board the _Millennium Falcon:_**

"Are you sure this thing works?"

"Stop panicking, Finn!"

But Rose had to admit that she was not very reassured either. She was now regretting putting Kylo Ren out of commission before he could explain how to use the cloaking device. The energy field generated by the object was nothing more than a portable version of the Haven base shield that had allowed them to fool the lookout droids' detectors. Fastening it on the outside shell of the ship had therefore made sense to them.

"And what if we lose it in hyperspace? Or when we land?"

"That's enough, Finn!" Rose shouted. "Just before going back to sub-light speed, activate the command and we should become invisible. Then we stick to the plan: get down to the surface of Naboo with no one the wiser, go to the coordinates sent by Leia, and once there we get in touch with Beccar Dugg."

"You make it sound like child's play!" Finn grumbled. "And what if there's a problem? What if, when we exit hyperspace, we find ourselves totally exposed in the middle of Hux's armada? They'll think they've won the jackpot! How long is this thing supposed to cloak us on enemy radars?"

"Kylo Ren said it depends on the size of the ship …"

The young man still looked unconvinced. "Honestly, Rose, I have a bad feeling about that. And what has Rey been doing with him this whole time?"

"Finn, let her breathe a little, OK?" Rose sighed.

But the former stormtrooper scowled once more.

"I'm sorry, you're asking too much of me! And I thought you would be on my side on this one! All this guy wants is to be rid of us! Rey believes he'll help us without complaining, but she's wrong. You said yourself that he was ready to leave with the shuttle on Berith!"

"Yes, that was his intention…"

Finn glanced questioningly at his girlfriend, who seemed lost in her thoughts ever since they had taken off.

"Rose ... What is it? Did he tell you something when you were both alone? Did he threaten you? If that bastard did anything to you, I swear …"

"No Finn, stop it. He didn't do anything to me. It's just…"

"Just what?" Finn asked, more and more intrigued.

"Kylo Ren will help us, that's all."

Finn let out a half-amused, half-disenchanted hiccup. He had absolutely no faith in what she had just said. "And since when do you trust Kylo Ren?"

The young woman took a deep breath and turned to face him.

"He will help us because he's in love with Rey."

Finn's jaw dropped and he was looking at her now in shock, as if he had just been hit again by good old Phasma.

OoooooO

Ben was lying in the bunk of the common room. His black locks covered his eyes, and his chest was rising and falling at the slow pace of his breathing.

Rey stood in the doorway for a few seconds and then walked silently across the room to sit next to him. He was still unconscious but she was not worried. She took a moment to contemplate once more his dark, atypical beauty. Now, every time she looked at him, she thought back to their passionate kiss aboard the _Falcon_. She could no longer be objective — her feelings for him were stronger than ever. She was already panicking that he might leave her. She had no idea what she would do if he decided to flee again. She hoped he wouldn't be too angry with Rose and her when he woke up. He certainly wasn't going to be happy when he learned that they were on their way to Naboo to try to save Maz and the queen. He might react violently, but she could be wrong. Ben had changed so much in four months. Rey knew he had let the Light come back in little by little, and she couldn't be happier.

She reached out her hand and brushed his hair off his face with a soft gesture. Her forefinger slid gently down his scar and lingered on each of his moles as her thumb traced the outline of his full lips, and she remembered how good it had been when their two bodies had been pressed together passionately. She also imagined how much better it would be without any clothes on them and she blushed.

She wanted him. She was not ashamed of it anymore.

Her hand went up again and she left her palm pressed against his forehead. Curious, she wanted to try something. She closed her eyes and cast her mind toward his. Her intention was not to force her way in, as he had done with her on _Starkiller_. She just wanted to see if it was possible to make contact while he was unconscious, and maybe even try to wake him up. But she ran into the closed door of his spirit.

She understood then why Ben had waited for her to awaken in the interrogation room of the icy planet before he tried to force his way into her head.

She removed her hand and let out a sigh.

Their situation was so complicated. She was leading her friends in a risky undertaking and, of course, Finn and Rose were ready to follow her unconditionally. But Ben had not asked for any of this. She knew very well that he had only one desire: to run away as far as possible from the First Order, from the Resistance, which meant from her too ...

Suddenly, she felt the irresistible urge to kiss him. She leaned over slowly and tasted his lips. They were so warm, so soft ... She made the pleasure last and took the opportunity to engrave this delicious moment in her memory. But soon she felt Ben's body quivering against hers. He grabbed her waist and opened his eyes while she was half lying on him. By reflex, he pushed her back and straightened up abruptly.

"What happened?" he asked, disoriented.

"Please, stay calm. Everything is fine. You started screaming earlier and Rose freaked out. She knocked you out with her electric prod."

Ben remained frozen for a few seconds before returning to sit next to Rey and pass his hand through his hair. He could still feel the imprint of Rey's lips on his mouth and the smell of warm sand floating in the air. But very soon he remembered the conversation in the cockpit and cast a furious and resigned look at her.

"I guess we're on our way to Arbra?"

"You guess wrong. We're going on Naboo."

Ben went from anger to incomprehension when she told him she was planning to rescue Maz and Megarana with the help of Finn, Rose, C-3PO and R2-D2.

"It's madness ..." he grumbled.

"I'm not letting Maz down. Not after all she did for me."

"Rey, Naboo is currently occupied by Hux's troops! You have no chance of landing without being detected!"

"We can succeed thanks to your cloaking device and… if you help us."

The young woman then explained her plan to him. Before Poe interrupted them, Leia had sent them the coordinates of the secret Gungan base in which the refugees were hidden. They would go there and consult with the people in charge about the possibility of breaking into the palace.

"I need you, Ben. Please," she begged.

But the tall, dark man just continued staring at the control panel in front of him thoughtfully. Rey knew that she had to convince him — it was vital.

"Why did my mother send us these coordinates?"

Rey couldn't repress a smile.

"She knows me well. She knows I won't stand by while Maz is in the hands of Hux."

"So Dameron and the other rebels are not aware of what you're going to do?"

"Unless Leia has decided to tell them, no, I don't think so."

"So let me sum up the situation. No reinforcement. Just the four of us, two droids plus a few survivors, huddled like rats in a zone controlled by the First Order's army. And you want to find those rebels and ask them to help you to break into the palace. With your plan, we have at least a ninety percent chance of being captured or killed. Are your friends OK with that?"

Their eyes met and Rey nodded.

"What makes you think that I'm going to accept?" he added.

He had asked the question with a hint of defiance in his voice, but the young woman had no desire to play his game. She knew deep down in her heart that he had changed, that he was no longer the ruthless and cruel Kylo Ren.

"Because I'm asking you to …" she whispered, holding her breath.

_Because I cannot bear to lose you again ..._

Ben's eyes started to shimmer and she wondered if she had thought too loudly. Rey felt that he was weighing the pros and cons, that his reason was trying to take precedence over his desire to say yes.

"We make planetfall in a short time, right? So, do I really have a choice? But I think you've forgotten one tiny detail. Your friend Finn hates me: he will be happy to shoot me in the back as soon as he gets the chance. And if he doesn't, the other rebels on Naboo will do it for him. I am far from being welcome in the Resistance…"

"Don't worry about Finn. And I don't think the other rebels have ever had the opportunity to see you without your mask, have they? They won't be able to recognize you."

The scavenger felt that the game was almost won. So she insisted.

"I just want to save them, Ben, and take them to a safer place."

"On Arbra…" he sighed.

Of course she was planning to return to Arbra. But she knew that could only be without Ben. A wave of sadness swept over her and she tried as best she could to keep an impassive expression in front of him.

"You have my word that once Maz and Megarana are released, we will drop you on the planet of your choice before going back to Haven."

She had said these words bluntly, yet she struggled to suppress the urge to cry that rose up her throat. Ben seemed disappointed too. But, against all odds, he announced:

"If I have your word, then OK. I'll help you."

The weight on Rey's chest suddenly lifted, and without even thinking, she rushed forward and kissed him. Ben welcomed her embrace with astonishment. But soon, his tongue mingled with hers and he groaned against her mouth. When they ran out of oxygen, they parted reluctantly and Rey, still panting, put both hands on either side of Ben's face.

"Thank you," she whispered, looking him straight in the eyes.

As with every time they touched each other, the atmosphere was electric. Ben's brown eyes were shining with desire and pleading with her wordlessly. The force emanating from him enveloped her all over and she heard the words flow in her mind like water:

_I cannot stand to lose you either ..._

Rey felt her body and heart melt again, and she shivered as Ben's hands descended slowly from her shoulders along her arms. She was attracted to him like a magnet, and it was becoming harder and harder to give up the touch of his skin on hers, to stay deaf to the call of her senses. But unfortunately she had to do just that, because they had no time right now to explore what lay between them. They would reach Naboo soon, and she had to ask him one last thing.

"Ben, if we have to go there, I have to learn to hide my aura so that Viri Pax does not detect my presence. Would you show me how to do that?"

Leia's son then smiled. "Finally, I've succeeded."

"Succeeded at doing what? Rey asked.

"Becoming your teacher."

OoooooO

Rose tugged at the controller in front of her and shouted to Finn.

"Now!"

The former stormtrooper pressed the square remote control. At the same time, the _Falcon_ finally emerged from hyperspace, surrounded by two huge destroyers of the First Order, a siege dreadnought and two light cruisers. Scanners were just a formality: the entire planet was surrounded by enemy ships.

The two young people held their breath. The cloaking device had better be effective, or they were dead.

Ben and Rey burst into the cockpit, and Finn's icy look went from one to the other before settling once again on Hux's armada just in front of them. They were standing behind the cockpit seats, too busy contemplating the spectacle of the well-aligned First Order war machines to notice the dark expression on Finn's face.

He still couldn't believe what Rose had revealed to him a few minutes earlier.

_Kylo Ren had feelings for Rey. It was impossible ..._

"It's working. They didn't spot us," Rey rejoiced.

"Yeah well, let's get out of here!" Rose hastened to push the engines as hard as she could to reach the surface of the green and blue planet.

OooooO

**Base Haven- Planet Arbra :**

Poe Dameron arrived at Leia's door. He stared at the metal wall for a long moment and began to think about what had happened a few hours earlier.

He was so sorry that things had come to this point. Leia was the one who had kept the Resistance together all these years. Her strength, her tenacity, her sense of sacrifice ... She was the soul of the Rebellion. She had always been.

But deep inside him, today, Poe was sure he was right. Leia was too personally involved to make the decisions now that her son had left the First Order. Kylo Ren remained a threat, perhaps an even bigger one than Hux or Elias. Leia's son was a monster. Spending four months isolated on a forgotten planet in the far reaches of the galaxy couldn't change this state of affairs.

Poe took a deep breath and finally announced himself by giving three small raps against the door. In her clear and strong voice, the princess invited him to enter. Once in the center of the room, the pilot saw she was sitting at her desk and cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Come on Poe, say what you have to say."

She was quietly consulting her datapad. There was not an ounce of anger in her voice, and the pilot felt all the more embarrassed.

"Leia, I don't want to stay in conflict with you. We all need you here, and you cannot imagine how hard it was to do what I did. You know very well how much I appreciate you. There's no one more loyal or dedicated to the cause than you. But please, you must realize that it's difficult for any of us to believe that redemption is possible for your son."

The older woman took the time to close all the files on the screen one by one before finally raising her chin to him.

Leia Organa, pillar of the Resistance, had regained that glimmer in her eye announcing that her determination was still intact, and that it would take more than a small setback to make her give up the fight.

"I would do it again without hesitation, Poe. I'm truly sorry if I made you all feel that I was untrustworthy. But I guessed right. If I had exposed our plan to you, you would never have let her go."

"Probably not," the pilot retorted, looking down.

"You and I are both too stubborn for our own good. And I am so very fond of you," Leia added.

Poe raised his head, unable to hide his emotions any longer. It was the first time he had heard the general acknowledge her affection for him.

"Leia, I'm sorry, I…" he stammered.

"You are not only a brilliant pilot, Poe, but you also have the makings of a great leader. I always knew it. I could not have dreamed of a better successor to keep the spark alive in the hearts of all these people. My son has done horrible things, and I don't know if I can ever forgive him for Han's death and Luke's sacrifice ... But no matter what you think about it, Luke, Han, and I also have our share of responsibility for allowing Snoke to come in and corrupt him. We made mistakes ... terrible mistakes. And you're right: even though I have devoted my entire life to the cause, to fighting everything that the First Order represents, I am still his mother. I want to believe that he can be brought back on the right side. Please, Poe, keep hope with me."

The general smiled and Poe's heart sank.

"Alert! Alert! An unknown ship has just entered the atmosphere of the planet and is heading towards us!"

Kaydel's voice echoed through the intercom, and Poe and Leia exchanged a stunned look before leaving the room to reach the command post.

OoooooO

**Planet Naboo**

The _Falcon_ landed among the trees, disturbing the tranquility of hundreds of birds. The small clearing was near a large, peaceful lake under which the Gungan shelter village was hidden. Theed was a few miles to the south. The First Order's army had established its headquarters in the capital and taken over the spaceport. From the cockpit, the rebels had seen that mobile bases had also been installed around the main cities of the continent. A huge number of AT-M6 armored vehicles and quadripods, as well as squadrons of troopers, were patrolling the Nabooan countryside. But Ben's device allowed them to reach their destination without any problems. Moreover, they had almost been hit by a flotilla of _TIE_ fighters as they passed over the palace to make a first a first reconnaissance of the area. Getting into this place would be extremely complicated, but Rey understood now why all the merchants and travelers passing through Jakku had said that Naboo was one of the most beautiful planets in the galaxy.

The _Falcon_ ramp lowered and the scavenger got off first. She had asked C-3PO and R2-D2 to stay in the ship and warn them via their comlink if Hux's soldiers came a little too close to where they were stationed. The cloaking device would scramble the radar and make it invisible for some time but it would not last forever. They had to hurry up.

Finn pointed to the shore of the lake they could barely see between the broad trunks and the thick vegetation. "Is it here?"

"Yes, let's go," Rey said, tightening her hold on her staff and checking once more that her brooch was still hung under the fold of her tunic.

She exchanged a knowing glance with Ben, and he followed her. He had put on a dark jacket in which he had concealed his lightsaber. Finn and Rose were simply armed with blasters. They moved cautiously between the bushes and the falling branches, their eyes sharp and ready to respond to the slightest threat.

They emerged on a bank facing an expanse of deep blue water reflecting the massive silhouettes of the mountains all around.

As Rose took a few steps to get close to the edge, Ben's whole body tightened. "I feel that there is …" He stopped in the middle of his sentence when a multitude of small bright red dots appeared on Rose's back and chest, and they heard a series of rattling sounds. They were surrounded by blasters ready to fire.

Ben tried to quietly reach the inside pocket of his jacket, but Rey shook her head to beg him to stop. She dropped her staff on the floor, raised her hands and Finn and Rose did the same. When she gave Ben a new glare, he finally decided to raise his hands too.

Suddenly, a strange creature with huge, dangling ears emerged from behind a large rock and cautiously advanced in their direction. Two globular yellow eyes at the top of a beak-shaped elongated face were staring at them with curiosity.

"Who-sa are yous?" he asked, aiming at them one by one with his laser rifle.

In their turn, two individuals of the same species, as well as four men, heavily armed, emerged from the forest. They weren't wearing uniforms. Rey relaxed when she realized that they were part of the survivors.

"Don't fire! We're members of the Resistance!" she exclaimed.

The group surrounding them lowered their weapons. The Gungan creature introduced itself as Ferr Cox. With his team, he was inspecting the lake's surroundings daily to be sure that the shelter had not been discovered. Rey explained how they had found them, and asked if they could be led to King Miggi Tan.

"All-n yous follow us." The Gungan headed for the sparkling, silver-glinted waters of the lake.

OooooO

Surrounded by darkness, Rey had the uncomfortable sensation once again of diving into the abyss at Ahch-To. Clinging to Ben, her staff firmly attached to her back, she focused on her breathing made possible by the small device she had wedged between her teeth, and the throbbing sound of the seascooter pulling them to the depths. But soon, she saw a multitude of small spheres floating in the heart of the lake. It was an underwater village, and Rey could only be amazed by the particular architecture of the houses and spans connecting them to each other. Each compartment was inserted into a root structure made of carved columns with delicate curves, and Rey marveled at so much beauty.

They finally arrived in front of the translucent membrane at the base of one of the hydrostatic bubbles. Ferr Cox pushed them in, and the scavenger was finally able to set foot on firm ground again. She was surprised to find herself completely dry. By what miracle were her hair and clothes no longer wet?

"Unbelievable!" Rose exclaimed in turn. "The whole frame is organic!"

The technician, as fascinated as Rey, was expertly scrutinizing every detail of these unusual constructions.

"Come and follow mesa," Ferr Cox said. "Yousas going to meet Boss Miggi Tan and others refugees."

They took one of the bridges leading to the center of the small city. About three hundred people had escaped the takeover of the First Order, mostly citizens of Theed, but also some from Otoh Gunga. Along the way, many inhabitants carrying food or equipment stared at them in amazement, delight, or imploring. Ben was miles away from being serene. His face was closed and his jaw was tight. He was following Ferr Cox without looking around at the Gungans and Naboo who were whispering as he passed. He looked to Rey for support, and the young woman gave him a nod to reassure him. As they approached the bubble where King Miggi Tan, his emissary, and the Naboo council members were waiting for them, the crowd became more compact.

Curious people were beginning to invade the bridge. "Move aside!" a Naboo soldier ordered.

Suddenly, a little girl came and stood in the middle of the walkway just in front of Rey. She was holding a rag doll against her heart.

The young woman gave her a big smile. "Hello."

Then the child looked at her from head to toe and exclaimed:

"Are all Jedi as pretty as you?"

Rey heard Finn and Rose giggle behind her, and the crowd opened to let someone pass. "Sorry ... Excuse me ... Thank you, thank you. Pameline, here you are! I told you to stay close to me!"

Rey froze immediately when, just in front of her, there emerged the old woman from her dream, wearing the same beige dress and white braid.

OooooO

**Base Haven- Planet Arbra**

Poe and Leia arrived together on the tarmac. The defensive turrets were armed and about thirty resistance fighters were waiting in front of the hangar, ready to fire on the _PB-950 _patrol ship which was landing in front of them. When it touched the ground in a cloud of dust and smoke, the tension rose a notch in the rebel ranks. Obviously this ship didn't belong to the First Order. But how did its occupants know about a base here?

Poe and Leia exchanged a cautious and worry-filled look as the ramp lowered in a squeak of metal with the hiss of the hydraulic compressors.

All gazes and laser guns were aimed at those who were about to come out. Against all odds, one man slowly descended the bridge, looking pleased and confident.

"Well! What a welcome committee!" he bragged before taking a look at the scene.

Poe left Leia, crossed the row of rebels, and cautiously walked toward him. At first sight, this man was not armed, and the pilot had the vague impression of knowing him. He was wearing a blue cape-coat, an impeccably trimmed mustache, and purple velvet gloves.

"Ah! You must be Poe! Nice to finally meet you!" Then Leia approached with an expression of total surprise on her face. "Oh, and here's the most beautiful woman in the galaxy."

"Lando? What are you doing here, you scoundrel?" she exclaimed, dumbfounded, before coming to snuggle into the arms of her old friend.

"I'm coming to help you, Princess," retorted the old smuggler, embracing the princess tenderly. "And to present you my condolences ... For Han. I know he wouldn't want me to feel sorry for him, but I will miss that damn rascal so much."

Lando pressed his lips into a thin line, and when Leia raised her head, he caressed her cheek affectionately.

"You're right. Best not to lament what we cannot change," she retorted, her eyes suddenly a little too wet. "Let me introduce you to Poe Dameron," she added quickly, pointing to the pilot. "He's the one in charge here now."

Poe shook Lando's hand with enthusiasm.

"Nice to meet you."

Leia's old friend cast a mocking look in her direction.

"I never thought you'd hand over the reins one day, Princess …"

"I'm making way for the younger generation, Lando," Leia smiled back.

The former smuggler then signaled to his men to disembark, and a dozen fellows got off the ship. Two of them were dragging an unshaven handcuffed stranger, who was squirming and moaning listlessly. One of the sleeves of his too-large jacket was ripped, and his worn, filthy hat sat crooked on his head.

"We found our new friend here on Chazwa. I think you'll be thrilled to meet him too," Lando announced.

Once the man was in front of him, Poe noticed the big amber ring he was wearing. Rose and Finn had told him about this famous piece of jewelry, and more particularly about its owner, who was the worst scum in the galaxy.

"You…. you're the hacker," Poe whispered, incredulous.

This man had sold them out to the First Order. Because of him, the majority of the Resistance shuttles had been destroyed before reaching Crait.

The ragged man then flashed a contrite smile and shrugged, raising his shackled hands in front of him as if expecting a beating from the pilot.

"I know what I d…d…d…did was very bad," he stuttered. "But m…m…m… maybe I can find a way to be forgiven?"

OooooO

**Gungan Refuge - Planet Naboo**

"You were right, they didn't recognize me."

Ben had joined the young woman who was now standing a little apart in the room. She was staring at a fluorescent batrachian who was swimming peacefully on the other side of the transparent wall.

The meeting with Boss Miggi Tan, Beccar Dugg and the remaining members of the Naboo Council had gone well. They were willing to help them and put all of their meager resources at the disposal of Rey to try to save Maz and Queen Megarana - even though they agreed that the venture was risky or downright impossible. A pleasant surprise was learning that one of the Queen's maids had stayed in the palace as an informant for the rebels. She was contacting them regularly to keep them informed of Hux's actions and could help them once there.

It was now necessary to develop a solid strategy to break into the palace without being caught. For Rey or Rose it would not be too much trouble. They could easily disguise themselves as maids so that they could move inside the building without being disturbed if they were careful. For Finn and Ben, on the other hand, there were no options. Each trooper of the First Order must have memorized the face of the traitor FN-2187, and Ben, built like a wampa, would hardly pass unnoticed.

But that was not what was upsetting the young woman right then.

"You seemed distracted during the meeting," Ben asked. "What's happening?"

Rey sighed before deciding to tell him everything about the old woman who had appeared in her dream and whom she had seen in the flesh a few minutes earlier on the bridge.

"It was her, Ben. How is it possible? On the _Falcon_, could I have had a new vision of the future? Do I have to find her and talk to her? Maybe she knows something …"

Ben approached her and was about to put a hand on her cheek when Rose and Finn's voices rose behind them. He immediately took a step back and rolled his eyes angrily.

"We were given quarters to rest a bit," Finn announced. "I think it's been twenty-four hours since I slept. Rey, you should sleep a little, too," the rebel added, glaring at Leia's son. "You look tired."

Finn was right, she was exhausted. This unexpected encounter had deeply troubled her. Exactly as in her dream, the old woman had stared at her brooch and then at her face with dismay. She had not had time to ask Ferr Cox anything before the grandmother had disappeared into the midst of the crowd, pulling the little girl by the arm. Rey was convinced this woman was the key to her past. She had to find her and have a little conversation with her.

A young Gungan came to meet them and lead them to the lower floors. There, other bridges served smaller bubbles acting as dormitories. Each compartment, more spacious than it seemed from the outside, was furnished with two small beds, a table, chairs and a shower room. Of course, through the transparent wall of the sphere, one could still admire the ballet of fish and the mysterious shadows of the picturesque creatures inhabiting the depths of the lake.

There were two rooms. They were four.

After rough negotiations, Rey decided to take the first, of course, with Ben, while Rose and Finn would share the second. Finn protested, cursing the fact that she was about to be in a closed space with a murderer and that she was wrong to always trust him. But he capitulated when Rose offered to take Rey's place.

Now alone in their underwater cocoons, Rey went to put her staff against the little table and dropped heavily onto one of the beds. In the neighboring bubble, Finn and Rose were also taking possession of the place. The transparent walls offered no privacy.

Ben saw Rose stand in front of a small lighted panel mounted onto one of the pillars and start to tap on it. Suddenly, the entire surface of their bubble opacified.

Ben went to the door of their room and did the same. The translucent membrane all around them began to vibrate and the indicator light on the panel turned green.

Interesting. They seemed to have become invisible from the outside, but they could still admire the underwater landscape.

He then sat down next to Rey, and the poor little bed bent a little under the weight of his colossal body.

"Why don't you try to talk to this woman?" he suggested. "It shouldn't be very difficult to find her in a place like this."

Rey didn't take her eyes off the sculpted ceiling, and she forced herself to focus her attention on the plasma channels converging at the apex of the sphere.

"Rey, what are you afraid of?"

Ben's deep voice ruined her plan to evade the question.

The young woman got up and sat down next to him, but was unable to look at anything but her feet.

Yes, what was she afraid of? She had been waiting four months for this moment. For four months, she'd been dying to discover the truth about her family. Just learning what had happened to her father and mother wasn't enough for her. She had so many more questions now. Where were they born? Where did this brooch come from? And especially, why Naboo?

And now, here she was. Maybe now she had the opportunity to get some answers.

But all of a sudden, something was holding her back. What if what she discovered was worse than what she had learned about Jakku? What if she ended up with parents still alive somewhere in the galaxy?

After being alone for so long, lost, abandoned ... After meeting Finn, Poe, Leia and Rose ... After finding a family, a family she had chosen, a family she loved from the bottom of her heart ... How would she react if she learned that someone sharing the same blood was waiting for her out there? If she learned that finally, she was someone?

OooooO

A group of women was sorting and storing food stocks when Rey stepped through the doorway. She did not want to rush things and was not sure how to approach the old woman sitting quietly on the small bench.

Ben had been right: it hadn't been difficult to find her. She had closed her eyes and extended her perception of sounds, colors, smells, tiny changes in the air all around her. She had first perceived Ben's aura. It was an incandescent tornado impossible to ignore, so close, so attractive, a hotbed of energy surrounded by a multitude of other presences - the survivors. So she'd breathed, as Luke had taught her, and had followed the Force current that had dragged her inexorably toward the one she was looking for.

The gnarled but still agile fingers of the octogenarian were braiding the soft fibers of reeds that must have been collected on the banks of the lake. Rey saw, close to her, several finished baskets containing grain and dried fruit. The scavenger advanced into the dim light of the bubble and the grandmother finally looked up at her. Then, as if responding to the call of a mysterious signal, the workers left the room one after another to leave the two women alone face to face. Rey was surprised and began to apologize.

"I'm sorry, I did not want to …"

The old woman interrupted her in a soft, gentle voice.

"My name is Isbé."

As Rey struggled to find the words to answer, she went on:

"And you are the young woman that everyone is talking about. The one who killed Snoke and faced Kylo Ren. The one who found Luke Skywalker and saved the Resistance on Crait. You are also Tark's daughter. And you've come mostly to ask me how and why I know your father's name, haven't you?"

"It's because of the jewel, isn't it? You've seen it before."

"Even without your brooch I would have guessed who you were. You look so much like her that it's troubling."

"Troubling to whom?"

The wrinkled lips of the old woman were now strained with a sad smile.

"To your grandmother. Tark's mother."

Rey's knees gave way suddenly, and she found herself sitting next to Isbé on the bench.

"Oh don't worry, I'll tell you everything. I think you have the right to know after all. You seem to have been searching for these answers for too long."

Rey nodded silently, and her heart began beating wildly. The old woman continued her weaving and started her story:

"Your grandmother's name was Nalea. Her mother, Ryaki, and mine, were friends, and both worked at the palace, serving King Veruna. Unfortunately when Ryaki gave birth, there were complications and she didn't survive. My parents decided to adopt Nalea and we were raised as sisters. We were the same age and growing up, we became inseparable. When the Clone Wars spelled the end for the Galactic Republic, Nalea and I were fifteen years old. My mother had found us a maid's place at the court of Queen Jamillia. It was at this time that Nalea discovered that she had certain… abilities.

Rey stared at her with wide eyes.

"The Force?"

The old woman nodded.

"She was able to move objects without touching them. She said she could feel things, vibrations, the energy of living beings all around her. She sometimes had dreams of events which later happened. So she was scared. She knew very well what all that meant: she was sensitive to the Force. During our childhood in the palace, we had many opportunities to rub shoulders with Jedi masters. She feared that they would come and take her into one of those padawan academies …"

Isbé let out a small laugh before continuing:

"I tried to reassure her that she was too old for that. That Padawans were recruited and trained only as children. And more, that she was too lazy and stubborn to make a good Jedi."

The anecdote made Rey smile and the atmosphere relaxed a little.

"Queen Neeyutnee then succeeded Jamillia and Nalea was chosen to be her decoy, to take her place during events and public ceremonies …"

The scavenger remembered all the details of her dream clearly and precisely: the beautiful woman with a painted face, her sumptuous outfit and her hand extended towards her, calling her "my child."

"And then, one day, she met a pilot at a gala held in the palace. His name was Korin. He was very attractive and kind. They fell in love and got married. A few years later, she gave birth to your father, Tark."

Rey was listening attentively. The pieces of the puzzle were slowly assembling themselves.

"The Empire controlled everything for about ten years. The Jedi purge was going on all over the galaxy and Nalea was scared, afraid of them finding out she had powers. She was afraid that her son had inherited her gift. And she was right to be. When he was four years old, your grandparents discovered that your father had skills too. They didn't know what to do. Then my mother got sick and the night she died, Nalea decided to leave Naboo with Korin and their child. My heart broke that day, and hers too. But she had no choice. I never saw them again."

Listening to Isbé relating her story, Rey had unknowingly put her hand on the brooch affixed to her chest. The old woman noticed this and added:

"This jewel is the only thing your grandmother Nalea kept from her biological mother. Nalea's father had given it to Ryaki, before he knew she was pregnant."

Rey felt slightly dizzy with all these revelations. Her parents, Tark and Iona, her paternal grandparents, Nalea and Korin, her great-grandmother Ryaki… All these names that were unfamiliar to her and that she should have cherished since childhood were swirling in her head. She suddenly felt like she was losing ground.

"It's a royal jewel," she said haltingly. "You said Ryaki was in the service of King Veruna. Does that mean that ... that he was …" The young woman was struggling to formulate her question. She decided to go straight to the point. "Who was Nalea's father? Tell me."

Isbé lowered her head sharply and one of the reed stalks escaped her fingers as her hands began to shake. She couldn't go back now. Rey had to know everything.

"Someone who was, at that time, serving the king too, and who had the right, because of his position in the court, to wear that kind of jewel. Someone who seduced Ryaki, promising her a wonderful life, and then abandoned her when he was not interested in her anymore . Someone she caught plotting against her sovereign, and from whom she had to hide her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter. My mother finally revealed everything to Nalea on her deathbed. I was there. I discovered with her who her father was. That night, we finally understood a great many things, most of all that she had to flee Naboo and hide far away, where nobody would come to find her. Especially not him …"

"Who was my great-grandfather?" Rey insisted, her eyes now close to tears.

"At the time, he was only a Senator. Then he became Emperor …"

Rey froze in horror.

"Your great-grandfather was Sheev Palpatine."


	20. CHAPTER 19

_**I hope you had a Merry Christmas. My beta, Nancy and I went back to translating. I'm not going to argue about the movie "The Rise of Skywalker", but I was just hoping a very different ending for our beloved Reylo. It doesn't matter, this story was originally written for that. So thank you for reading and for your support. **_

**Unknown Regions:**

Armitage Hux was sitting in the back of the Upsilon-class shuttle cockpit and stamping his feet, his hands clenched on the armrests of his chair. The hypnotic scrolling of the blue beams of the hyper-space corridor had no calming effect on him. On the contrary, his nervousness grew as the ship approached their final destination. In order to verify Mitaka's information, Hux had chosen to go to Diyu with complete discretion, accompanied only by an armed escort of stormtroopers and two pilots. When Viri Pax had asked him where he was going, he had pretended to be visiting a new construction site for Star Destroyers, and said he would be back in two or three days. He wasn't sure that the Zabrak had believed his story but honestly he didn't care. Once there, he had found that, ultimately, the famous laboratory was not really one: it was just a small complex in which prototypes warheads, able to cross any planetary shield, were being designed. The team of technicians was receiving all their instructions from the main Sato-based research center. Hux was stunned. It was the planet situated in the heart of the UR-345 system that contained fabulous deposits of kyber crystals and the famous ore with extraordinary properties. All of this was insane. So he had decided to go and see for himself.

Suddenly, the ship shifted slightly, indicating that it had just returned to sub-light speed, and continued idling.

Hux jumped from his seat to bark at the two pilots.

"What are you doing?! Why are we stopping in the middle of nowhere!"

"General, the ship's sensors triggered the exit from hyper-space. Apparently there's an obstacle right in front of us."

The three men scanned the black void in front of them, and after a few seconds, they saw in the distance what had alerted the computers on board: an asteroid field was blocking the shuttle route.

"I don't understand!" Hux was livid. "Why, when you entered the Sato coordinates, didn't the nav computer have us avoid this area?"

The co-pilot displayed the map of the region on the viewing screen. His eyes widened as he turned his head to his colleague, who was just as surprised as him.

"Because this asteroid field is not supposed to be there, General …"

"What? Don't be stupid! Our data concerning this part of the Unknown Regions was updated less than a month ago!"

The two soldiers remained wary, not knowing exactly what explanation to give to their superior. Hux was right, the First Order's spatial maps were certainly the most reliable in the galaxy. Suddenly, the redhead became deathly pale.

"I wonder if …" he articulated painfully.

He shoved the poor co-pilot unceremoniously to the side, tapped on the keyboard and zoomed in on the area they were supposed to be in. The old records in the ship's memory appeared on the screen. Their current coordinates corresponded to those of a small moon, KX343, normally gravitating in high orbit of the planet that they could see far off on their right.

"What does that mean, General?" The pilot, who still didn't understand, looked up at him for clarification.

Hux had taken a few steps back and was now motionless and unresponsive in the middle of the cockpit. He kept staring at the multitude of rocky fragments floating quietly in front of the shuttle. Ignoring his subordinate's question completely, he merely whistled between his teeth:

"Elias Ren, what did you do?"

The shuttle landed on the small runway of the complex. Not wanting to risk crossing the asteroid field, they had lost time bypassing it. Flanked by his escort, Armitage Hux made his way to the entrance of the facility, which was guarded by four stormtroopers, who promptly came to attention. The huge metal door opened, and the newcomers were greeted by a man in a white coat, with a waxy face and a hooked nose. The sparse hair on his head was combed to the side in a single strand, and his little black eyes, too close together, widened at the sight of the soldier he obviously was not expecting to see.

"General Hux! What a surprise! I am so sorry that I was not informed of your arrival! I am…"

As the man continued to stammer and make excuses, Hux cut him off unceremoniously:

"My coming here was decided in a bit of a rush. In fact, we did not have time to warn you."

The scientist suddenly appeared even more uncomfortable.

"Our Supreme Leader is aware of your presence here, isn't he?"

This time it was Hux's turn to stammer out an answer:

"Yes of course!" the general lied shamelessly before walking past the scientist to take the corridor leading inward. "It's he who sends me to check the status of your research on the ore. You are ... uh …"

"Professor Maktor Heln." The hawk-faced man was trotting along behind the officer. "I have been in charge of the 'Fusion project' for about two months."

_The "Fusion Project" ... What was that? ..._

Hux's eyebrows met on his forehead. He had absolutely no idea what the scientist was talking about. During Kylo Ren's few weeks in power, it was decided that Sato would house an extraction center but also a laboratory to test the ore found in the subsoil of the planet. And just after the ousting of Han Solo's son, Elias had declared that he would personally oversee the establishment and management of the facilities in order to realize the idea of his predecessor: the construction of the five miniaturized Death Stars. But apparently, Elias's plans had changed somewhere along the way.

The little group soon arrived in front of a huge room with glass partitions. Heln accelerated his pace to move ahead of the soldier, and then invited him to enter his sacred laboratory. About fifty technicians were busy like ants at different workstations.

Armitage Hux stopped on the threshold and took a few seconds to examine the scene. The excitement within the room was undeniable, but the faces of the workers were serious and closed. They all seemed really worried and nervous, which piqued Hux's curiosity even more.

"Can you brief me, Herk?" he asked in a falsely detached tone as he approached a bench on which samples of deep blue crystals were scattered in small glass cups.

"It's Heln," the scientist retorted "Maktor Heln." A bit upset, he clenched his teeth before continuing. "Well, as your Supreme Leader must have told you, the last attempt was a total success. The weapon worked perfectly."

"Yes ... and just like him, I'm absolutely delighted that everything went perfectly …"

Hux was gambling everything, hoping that he could bluff his way into getting as much detail on the project as possible without letting the scientist discover that he had actually been removed from it.

"Our engineers did a remarkable job," Heln boasted, "guided, of course, by the instructions of our beloved Supreme Leader. This new prototype bomb is a little gem. The casing is no bigger than a neutron battery * and can be transported in a simple suitcase! Inside, we placed the new alloy made from the ore mixed with the red crystal provided by Lord Ren, and we deposited it on KX343."

Armitage Hux immediately thought back to the missing moon and the asteroid field that had taken its place. "Of course, the red crystal," he repeated stupidly.

"We were all so excited! The Supreme Leader and Lord Viri Pax were standing where you are when they activated the holocron and voila! The countdown started as planned! I wasn't convinced at first that this Sith artifact could serve as a detonator, especially at such a long distance, but I was wrong. This technology is fascinating!"

Maktor Heln pointed to the computer on the bench at Hux's right. On the screen, the three-dimensional image of a small pyramidal object slowly rotated as the machine performed a multitude of complex calculations.

"I would have liked to study this object in more detail before the Supreme Leader left, in order to discover why its activation requires the presence of two Force users."

"Yes ... Interesting, isn't it? A… pair of Force users is required to detonate… the weapon," Hux was now staring at the screen, becoming more and more pale.

"The result has exceeded all our expectations! I can't believe that two months ago, when we made the first test with an alloy of ore and classic kyber crystal, we only managed to detonate one of the planet's mountain ranges! But using a few micrograms of red crystal instead of the blue kyber, we obliterate the entire moon! And all of that from here!"

_Viri Pax. Holocron. Alloy of ore and red crystal. Moon obliterated._

All the pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together in Hux's mind.

Elias Ren was in possession of a mysterious artifact called a holocron, which controlled the firing of a super-bomb developed by the First Order's laboratories. Viri Pax was in the know because, according to the scientist, it took two Force sensitive people to activate the device.

_Kriff ..._

Was Sylla also in the game? Yehnu? Where did that damn holocron come from? Did it belong to Kylo Ren? Snoke? And this red crystal? Where did Elias get it? Here even on Sato? On Malachor?

_Too many questions without answers ..._

With this discovery, the First Order could, without question, bend the entire galaxy to its will. Their sheer firepower would be mind-boggling. In addition, the explosive device was easily transportable and the firing could be triggered from another point in the galaxy. But if a few micrograms were enough to get a device capable of exploding a moon, what would happen if the proportions of the infamous red crystal were increased during the creation of the alloy?

Hux still didn't understand how all this could have happened without him being informed, and he could not imagine what the consequences might be. A whole system ravaged? Many systems? Just at the snap of your fingers?

_And this phenomenal power of destruction was now in the hands of Elias Ren ..._

OooooO

**Planet Malachor**

She knew it. She should have beheaded the bald man with the tattooed skull, which would at least have made her feel better. The mercenary had been smart enough to stay unnoticed when the transport shuttle sent by the _Fellfire_ came to pick them up in the middle of the Jundland desert. As a result, he had escaped summary execution. Good for him.

_Kriff ... She wasn't getting soft, was she?_

It was all because of Kylo. Because of the feelings she had for him.

Sylla closed her eyes and felt again her former partner's lips running along the skin of her neck and slowly moving up to her ear. She heard his moans of pleasure echo hers and shuddered at the memory of his hips rubbing against her ass. She bit the inside of her cheek and the metallic taste of blood revived both her taste buds and her resentment.

_He is a traitor. He killed Snoke and Bram. He wanted us all to be eliminated. And now, he's with this girl ..._

Armitage Hux had implied that Kylo was infatuated with her. The scavenger was perhaps Force sensitive and had recovered Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber but, for her, the girl was just rebel vermin who thought she was a Jedi . Moreover, she couldn't see the former Supreme Leader of the First Order being welcomed into the enemy camp with open arms, and even less so by his mother. Kylo had murdered Han Solo and caused Luke's death.

Sylla was bitter and furious, but surely not as much as Elias must be right now. She heard the boots of the new master of the Knights of Ren slam on the floor of the great hall and she took a deep breath before turning to face him. She was expecting a barrage of reproach and humiliating remarks. Elias would love to cut her down to size and make her pay for what he'd surely think was obvious proof of her incompetence. After all, she had insisted on taking care of Kylo alone and she had failed miserably. She clenched her teeth, ready to weather the storm.

The knight stepped closer to her, glared at her for a few moments and, without uttering a word, left her there to head for the terrace.

She really would have preferred him to explode. His condescension was unbearable. She was blaming herself enough for ruining her chances of killing Kylo, killing the girl, and proving to him that she was just as trustworthy as Viri and Yehnu. She decided to follow him to the balcony and play the truth card.

"As you already know, I lost him. He fled with the scavenger aboard the _Millennium Falcon_."

Hands behind his back, facing the gray plain spreading as far as the eye could see, Elias remained silent, and Sylla swallowed hard.

"Say something ... Shout at me, draw your saber, act like the real master of the Knight of Ren! Come on!"

Her voice was high and Elias barely turned to look at her.

"This 'Rey' must be really exceptional if Kylo has decided to fight by her side ... Do you think he's in love with her?"

Sylla stopped breathing.

The saccharine tone that Elias had just used made her nauseous. He had touched on a raw nerve. And that was only the beginning of the reprisals. When the tall blond turned to face her, he had a sadistic and provocative smile on his face. Sylla suddenly wanted to lunge for his throat.

"It wouldn't be all that surprising," he continued. "She may be coming out of a junkyard, but she is not so unpleasant to look at. Rather pretty even, full of passion…. Passion and determination. I understand why our dear Kylo wanted to make an apprentice of her and 'deepen' things with her. Unless that's already done."

Sylla's body went forward and Elias had to grab hold of her arms to keep her away. The amazon's onyx eyes threw flames, her jaw clenched, and her hand rested on the handle of her saber hanging from her belt. The knight was now holding her gaze, no longer smiling. No more comedy. No more honeyed, viperish words.

"It is not against me that you must direct your anger, Sylla! Kylo despises you and has never felt anything for you! You have only served to satisfy his carnal impulses and flatter his ego!"

She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. Rage was choking her tears and drying her throat. At that moment she just wanted to kill. Anybody would do...

Then Elias drew her towards him and his hand came to rest gently on her cheek. She flinched, surprised by this unexpected gesture.

"Wake up, Sylla. Your attachment to him makes you weak and prevents you from fully drawing on the dark side's power."

His palm against her skin was hot. The darkness that emanated from him was intoxicating.

But Sylla was not fooled. The Sith had never praised anything other than her warrior skills, and she had never experienced the slightest attraction to him. If he was playing the card of the benevolent master, it was just because he was waiting for total, unconditional submission from her.

Suddenly footsteps echoed behind them. Elias abruptly released her, and Sylla tried to regain her balance as one of the First Order's minions joined them on the terrace with a portable holocom in his arms.

"Lord Elias, I apologize for disturbing you, but Lord Viri has just contacted us. He has crucial information to transmit to you."

With a wave of the hand, the knight ordered the soldier to activate the communication and the face of the Zabrak materialized in front of them.

"Salutations, Master. Just to let you know that General Hux left Naboo this morning. He is right now on Sato. The scientist in charge there has just sent us a message."

A little knowing smile appeared on Elias's lips.

"Dear Armitage ... It didn't take long for him to stick his nose into our business."

"You have only to say the word and I'll take care of him," Viri retorted.

"No. Let him believe he can still act with impunity. We will take care of him later. In a short time, we will have an iron grip on the entire galaxy. Nothing will stop us: not the Resistance, or Hux, or Kylo, and even less this girl who thinks she is the heiress of Skywalker."

Elias turned to Sylla again, and she looked at him more confidently.

"What about the prisoners on Naboo? Did you manage to make them talk?" he added, addressing the Zabrak.

"The queen knows nothing. Maz Kanata continues to resist but I am under the impression that neither have been made aware of where the rebels are hiding."

"Kanata is tough, indeed. We'll let her languish a bit in her cell so she understands that, this time, she will not be able to save her skin if she does not collaborate. And if she still refuses to speak, then we will kill her. Sylla and I are going back to the _Finalizer_. Join us as soon as you can. We will wait together for the return of our dear friend Armitage Hux, and we will ask him how he has found our new facilities on Sato."

"As you wish, Master," Viri replied before the transmission was cut.

OoooooO

**Naboo- Gungan Refuge:**

Ben wiped the steam off the mirror in the small bathroom and ran his hand over his chin. He needed a good shave. A few drops of water slid down his lashes to come crashing down on his bare shoulders. Rey had been away for about two hours and he had plenty of time to enjoy the comforts of the room. He had spent long minutes in the shower while his clothes were cleaned in the small sonicator. He finished buttoning his pants and looked at himself for a few more seconds in the mirror. His cheeks were slightly hollower, his skin less pale. He had never really paid attention to his appearance so far, but if he had to give an objective opinion of his physique, he would simply say that he was rather massive, that his scarred face was now giving him a bit of a "rough" look, and that his ears were definitely too big. His nose too. He was not especially handsome and wondered what Rey saw in him. Would she have even looked twice at him in other circumstances, if there was not that special bond that drove them inexorably towards each other?

Besides, what would become of them both in the end? Once Maz was free, once they left Naboo, would she keep her promise and let him go? Was she going to abandon him again, as on the _Supremacy_,to return to the Resistance?

And if the mission failed ... If she got caught, or worse, if she was killed ... The rebels were right. Accompanying her was risky but it was out of the question for him to let her go alone. He would face Hux and all his army if necessary. He would crush Viri, Sylla, Elias. The soldiers might even be surprised to see him again without his mask. Maybe he could take advantage of that ... After all, he was still, in the eyes of all, the Supreme Leader of the First Order. To rely on the blind obedience of the stormtroopers was not such a crazy idea.

_Take back the reins, the power and sweep away all those who had betrayed him ..._

Ben looked up and gazed at his reflection in the mirror again.

If he did that, he would lose Rey forever. And without Rey, he was not sure he wanted to continue ...

He ran his hand over his face again before letting out a long sigh.

He was lost and didn't know what to do. But he was certain of one thing: he was totally and madly in love with Rey.

OoooooO

_Inhale… Exhale…_

On Ahch-To, Luke had said these words to help her connect with the Force. On Arbra, she used to whisper them before each meditation. And right now, they were the only thing she could hang on to, to keep from sinking. For several minutes, she repeated them on a loop in her head, like a mantra, fixing her gaze on an invisible point outside the translucent wall of the bubble.

Isbé had remained silent, ridden with guilt for revealing the terrible truth. She had taken Rey's hand in hers, to comfort her, to make her understand that she was there for her, and the young woman had let her do it.

"I could have held my tongue. I could have told you lies. Perhaps I should have …"

Rey finally turned her head towards her and shook it from side to side to tell the old woman that she had done well to be honest, even though it was hard to accept. Then Isbé squeezed her fingers a little harder.

"My child, you are smart enough to know that ancestry does not define who we are deep inside us. You and only you can choose the voice you want to follow. You are a young woman so brave, strong and caring. Your light floods all those who have the chance to meet you. You're nothing like 'him,' and your grandmother, Nalea, was just like you, the opposite of all that he embodied."

"What about my parents? They abandoned me on Jakku …" Rey's voice broke on the last syllables.

Isbé sighed and looked down. What could she answer to that?

"How can people who love their child do such a thing? Why don't I remember anything about them, not even their faces?"

Rey had asked Maz the same question about Jakku a few months ago. She hadn't understood then… But here, with Isbé, she suddenly had a revelation. She understood absolutely everything. She stood still for a moment as the elements all pieced themselves together in her mind.

_Your father had always been different. The other scrap dealers were afraid of him. I remember one day when, in the middle of a fight, he threw Gert across the room without barely lifting a finger. __I'm not sure that he was quite right in the head… something always seemed to be gnawing at him.__ That's why he needed glitterstim. He once told me that he used it "to calm his demons."_

That's what the dealer in Niima had said. Tark knew he was Palpatine's grandson - Nalea must have told him. She imagined him, terrified, upset, just as she was right now. He must have borne the burden, knowing that he was Force sensitive and that the darkness might try to reign over his heart, just as it had done with his infamous grandfather. And then she was born.

_Had her father "felt" that she had powers too? In what circumstances? When?_

Then he and her mother had left her on Jakku, in the hands of Unkar Plutt... Without any memories.

_They made me forget ..._ Rey realized. She immediately remembered how Ben had managed to manipulate Sovan and Shalim's mind on Tatooine, just by looking in their eyes for two seconds.

Tark had purposely erased her memory.

But why? Remorse? Cruelty? It was perhaps even her own father who had engraved this certainty in her subconscious that one day they would come back for her ...

Rey was in shock. Palpatine, her parents, all of this was too much. But the unexpected arrival of Beccar Dugg and the four members of the Naboo Council prevented her from bursting into tears beside the old woman.

OooooO

She was walking on the footbridge bringing her back to her room, moving like an automaton with the oppressive sensation of being trapped in a bad dream. A few minutes earlier, the rebels had interrupted her meeting with Isbé to give her crucial information. She had listened carefully to Beccar Dugg, but the words of the emissary had struggled to imprint themselves in her brain.

The informant in the palace had warned them about Hux's departure. Apparently, the soldier's absence was to last several days, and Viri Pax was preparing to return to the _Finalizer_ very early in the morning. They had to act the following night, but the problem was always the same: how to enter the palace?

Isbé had not left the room. She was not one of the Gungan leaders or a member of the Royal Council, but she interrupted to offer them a crucial piece of information she'd learned from the time she had worked at the palace. King Ars Veruna, fearing that he might have to flee suddenly due to accusations of corruption, had ordered a tunnel dug that led from his room to an outlet at the foot to the cliff, under the waterfall.

Didiun Laz, a member of the council, was surprised. "I've never heard of it. You are sure?"

But Isbé had been adamant. She just didn't know if the tunnel had been condemned in the years since. Beccar had immediately begun issuing calls to gather everyone together, and urging Rey to call her friends. But the young woman had remained silent throughout this whole exchange, thoroughly lost and confused as everything she'd learned whirled together in her head. Sensing her turmoil, Isbé had cut in to say that their guests needed rest, and that it might be better to wait until tomorrow morning to begin developing a strategy. All the rebels had nodded, and Rey had been encouraged to go back to her room and rest.

The inhabitants of the refuge may have been deprived of natural sunrises and sunsets, but the lighting inside the village was adjusted according to the day-night cycles of the surface. And as the plains and mountains of Naboo were now bathed in the warm colors of twilight, in the darkness under the lake, Rey's footsteps were lit only by the small lanterns on the ground that marked the path. The opaque bubble in which Ben was waiting for her soon appeared at the end of the way.

But she was totally lost.

_Ben…Should she tell him everything? How would he react when he learned that she was the great-granddaughter of Sheev Palpatine?_

The Emperor was responsible for causing Anakin Skywalker to surrender body and soul to the Dark Side. He was also indirectly responsible for Padme's death. He had been the nemesis of the Skywalker family for decades and the worst dictator the galaxy had ever known.

So she began to think of Leia and Luke. They, too, had once faced the same devastating news, when they had discovered that they were Vader's children. Rey was convinced that the general could understand, that she would support her. She was also deeply convinced that Finn, Rose and even Poe would be on her side. They were family. Her affection for them was so deep and she knew that they cared for her too. She just hoped they would still look at her the same way once they knew about this.

When she arrived in front of her bubble, she realized that she was still holding her father's golden brooch in her hand. She opened her fingers and stared at the jewel in her trembling palm. She felt empty. She was cold, needed someone to take her in his arms, to give her warmth and comfort. She needed Ben. She unlocked the door and entered the room.

As soon as she stepped inside, Ben came out of the bathroom. He was shirtless and dressed only in his pants, and when he saw her, his face filled with worry.

"Rey? Is everything OK?"

No. She couldn't tell him. She had to take the time to analyze the situation and think about what to do next. And most importantly, she had to forget, at least for a few hours, what she had just discovered and why they had landed on Naboo.

She looked at Ben's powerful chest. His pectorals were still perfectly drawn, his shoulders so large. He was handsome and strong and he was there, with her, in this room, out of sight. The jewel in her hand had become icy - just like she supposed her great-grandfather's heart has been - so she hastened to put it on the small table before slowly approaching him.

"Did you find the old woman?"

"I didn't have time to look for her," she lied. "Beccar Dugg learned that Hux has left Naboo and that Viri Pax is planning to return to the _Finalizer_. We need to put a plan in place soon, starting tomorrow morning."

Her eyes slid over Ben's plump lips. The warmth emanating from his body had a soothing effect on her. His powerful aura was now calling her through the Force. She didn't want to think about the rebels, about Isbé, about her family anymore.

She slowly raised her hand to rest on Ben's heart. She felt him flinch slightly and his pulse quickened.

"But right now, I just want you to take me in your arms."

He stood motionless for a few seconds, staring at her before gently pulling her to him and wrapping his arms around her tightly.

It felt so good: snuggling against him, listening to him breathe. The weight oppressing her disappeared and suddenly, naturally, her desire for him surpassed all the rest.

Ben's fingers slipped into her hair, traced the lobe of her ear, and gently kissed the top of her head. She then raised her chin and hiked on tiptoe to taste his lips. Her tongue caressed his for the second time and the sensations came back, even more intense this time.

As with each time they touched, the air all around them began to vibrate. The link was about to open again. Ben would have access to her thoughts and so to what she had learned a few minutes earlier. But she could not let that happen, not this time. Otherwise he would discover everything: Palpatine, her bitterness, her sadness, doubts and fears ...

She reluctantly erected an impenetrable wall around her mind, as he had taught her. But besides that, she focused all her senses to the assault of his mind.

And she met no resistance.

Ben, unlike her, was giving body and soul to her kisses, to her caresses, and she was utterly overcome by what she read then in him: Ben was filled with her, her smell, the salty taste of her skin, the sweet taste of her tongue.

He wanted her too. Furiously. Desperately. And she had to tell him that she also felt the same.

"Ben please, I need you here and now."

"So let me in, Rey ... Tell me what you want me to do."

He was begging her, not understanding why her mind was closed for him.

Her mouth explored the curve of his jaw. He had not shaved since yesterday. The abrasion of his nascent beard against her wet lips gave her goosebumps.

Ben's hands finally became more daring. His gigantic palm grabbed one of her breasts and began to knead it gently through the drape of her tunic, as if it were a small, fragile sphere. She could not hold back a sigh of pleasure when he ran his thumb several times over the hard point of her nipple. The friction between their two bodies intensified, but she needed more contact. She tried to undo the button of his pants, and Ben murmured against her temple:

"Rey, are you sure …"

"Yes, I'm sure," she whispered, taking a step back.

Releasing herself suddenly from his embrace, she began undressing in turn. Ben, his eyes glistening with lust and his lips parted, watched her unbuckle her belt. She could see the outline of him, straining against his half-open briefs. She got rid of her shoes and her cropped pants. She then undid her scarf, which went to join the rest of her clothes on the floor. This would be her first time to be naked in front of a man, and she was suddenly struck by the seriousness of what she was doing.

_How far did she expect to go? How far would Ben want to go?_

She was only wearing her tunic now and the giant man in front of her was literally feasting his eyes on her. His pupils were dilated and his breath was short. A new tidal wave of sensations hit her hard. Pictures of what he wanted her to do to him, of what he wanted to do to her, and she blushed violently.

"Rey …"

There was only her name on his lips, as if any other vocabulary had deserted his brain. But Rey didn't need any more. She could read him like an open book.

She slowly spread the sides of her tunic, dropped it at her feet, then removed her panties, shivering. Ben was admiring now every inch of her anatomy and a moment of panic seized her as she thought back to their conversation aboard the _Falcon_ about Sylla. The woman knight she had seen in her dream was really beautiful. Rey couldn't hope to compete. She had tiny breasts, no womanly curves, no experience ...

"Oh Maker, you are so beautiful," Ben enthused.

The sincerity in his voice moved her to tears, so she decided not to lose another second and kissed him again.

This time he didn't hold back. Ben's hands were everywhere at once. Her back, her breasts, her hips. He finished getting rid of his pants before grabbing the back of her thighs to lift her from the ground as if she weighed nothing. She encircled his waist with her legs and her core pressed directly against Ben's hot and hard cock, still trapped in his underwear.

Clinging to his shoulders, she moaned softly as he kissed her neck and, instinctively, she arched her hips and started to move. Ben let out a low growl against her throat.

It was both incredibly exciting and a little scary. Rey couldn't believe she was the one provoking such a reaction. She was beginning to get drunk on his pleasure mixed with hers. The shock and stupor of the last hours was gradually fading away and she was a little ashamed to use him in this way, to silence her discomfort and the voice of Isbé still ringing in her head. Feeling his feverish body pressed against hers was a delight, but suddenly he stopped caressing her and he released her thighs.

"What?" she asked.

Ben was breathing heavy. His dark locks, falling in front of his face, were a mess and his eyes were glistening.

"Rey, I want this, really want it. But I know it's the first time for you and I don't want to rush anything. I only did that …"

Not giving him time to finish, her lips captured his again.

_... twice. With Sylla._

That's what he was about to say. But at the moment, she didn't care about his reluctance, his arguments. She wanted him to make love to her right now. She needed his skin against hers. She needed to fetch the light buried in the depths of her, to ward off the dark specter she was so afraid of.

She pushed him unceremoniously towards the bed. She rested both hands flat against his chest as he was sitting and then lying on the mattress. She climbed on top of him and straddled his colossal body as she moved over him. The friction was pure ecstasy, and with the tip of her tongue she pressed hot kisses along his collarbone. Ben tilted his head back and bit his lower lip, whimpering again. He was still trying to get in touch with her through the Force, to anticipate her desires, to meet her expectations, to intensify her sensations, and she felt him grow more and more cautious and anxious as she pushed back his attempts.

"Rey, please, open up to me. You don't know how long I've dreamed of this moment with you."

"I've dreamt of this moment too and now, I'm just a little nervous."

Before meeting Ben, no one had ever touched her. On Jakku, the lecherous glances of tavern customers or other scavengers had been anything but discreet, and she could have found some small comfort with them if she'd wanted. Finn and Poe were charming and attractive men too, but she had never wanted someone like she wanted Ben. And she wanted him to know that. Now.

She lifted slightly and slid down his underwear along his thighs. Ben's throbbing cock sprang free to bump against her folds. He was hard, big, and swollen. She was seeing a man's sex for the first time.

_Kriff ... Was there anything more erotic in the whole universe?_

Ben grabbed her hips a little too abruptly. A wave of arousal shook her from head to foot and they looked at each other for a long time, just lulled by the sound of their jerky breaths. Then, a little hesitantly, she closed her hand around him. It was soft, thick and firm. She wasn't certain of what to do next so she decided to squeeze a little harder and pump him a few times. Ben let out a sigh of bliss.

"Rey, I don't have any protection for …"

She leaned over him and, with the tip of her nose, she caressed the tip of his.

"It's not a problem, I have an implant," she whispered.

But suddenly, she was afraid that he imagined things and she hastened to clarify. "All women at the base have one. That is…"

He didn't let her finish. Ben's hand between her shoulder blades pressed her forward and he took the pink tip of one of her breasts in his mouth, licking her nipple as his fingers began to explore the space between her legs. A sweet heat invaded her belly and ran down to her core. When he finally found her clit and began to rub it in small circles, all the nerve fibers in her body ignited simultaneously.

_Kriff ... it was absolutely delicious. A thousand times better than when she did it herself._

If he continued like this, her mental defenses would collapse. She had to pull herself together, to concentrate ... Ben's voice echoed in her head and begged her one more time. Her apprehension increased and instead of continuing to surrender against Ben's fingers, she tensed slightly.

"Rey, what is it, am I hurting you?"

"No, it's perfect, please, keep going…"

_Come on, hold on, Rey ..._

Her fist kept going up and down on his shaft and she felt his heart beating fast when she put her other hand flat on his chest to support herself. So she dared a new foray into his head. Anxiety was obscuring his pleasure. It was a torture for him because, it felt so good, but she continued to refuse to bind her soul with his. He was feeling guilty. She had to reassure him, to convince him that it was not his fault.

With her thighs resting on either side of his hips, she took his velvety, hypersensitive cock head and slid it easily through her folds. Through the link, she could sense that a wave of intense pleasure rushed over him again. Suddenly on the verge of ecstasy, he struggled violently not to explode in her hand.

"Kriff Rey, you have to stop doing that …"

"I want you in me," she whispered, resting her forehead against his.

He kissed her tenderly, on her cheeks, her chin, her lips.

"You aren't ready yet, I might hurt you. You have to relax and let me …"

But she had already risen up on her knees. She guided his cock to her entrance and, before he could stop it, she let herself slowly descend on him. His warmth filling her had to push away her fears, had to make her forget the terrible truth. She needed it. She needed him.

Ben gasped and he started to shake.

She hadn't expected this. He was right, she was not ready. Her muscles were too contracted and she hissed with a groan of discomfort at the friction of his penis against her inner walls.

"Rey, wait ... You're going too fast." He tried to stop her, grabbing her by the waist.

A multitude of contradictory emotions jostled in her, first and foremost being the visceral fear she could lose him. She didn't know why, but she saw herself in the dark cave on Ahch-To, facing her reflection on the wall, her hair wet and with the Emperor's monstrous face superimposed on hers. She was falling apart, losing the thread of pleasure but she still wanted to fight, to hang on to Ben's body.

She didn't listen to him and lowered herself further until she felt something give way under the pressure. This time she couldn't suppress a little cry of pain.

"Rey, stop!" he choked out, panting at the sight of his cock fully buried in her.

He took advantage of the fact that she was trying to catch her breath to tilt her to the side and pull himself out as delicately as possible.

"No Ben, it's nothing!" she complained.

She was shivering and clung desperately to his forearms.

"Rey, I can see that something is wrong! I'm sorry but we have to stop. You look so shaken. You block all my attempts to connect with you. I don't understand, what's going on?"

"I told you, I'm just a little nervous but it's OK."

"No, it's not OK. There's something else going on. I would give anything to be with you, to make love to you, but not this way!"

This time, warm tears ran down her cheeks and Ben, still shaking with the violence of their embrace, stared at her with a panicked look. He hastened to hug her tightly and she hid her face in the crook of his neck. She no longer had the strength to resist. She was giving up. Her barriers collapsed one by one and she clung to Ben's voice, whispering soft words against her hair and caressing her lower back tenderly.

OooooO

The water flowing over her body was soothing her now. Standing under the shower, her eyes closed and her mind empty, she was focusing on her breathing. A thin stream of blood had flowed down her thighs before disappearing into the drain at her feet. Her core was still burning a little, but the pain was fading.

She had told Ben everything. She had told him about Isbé, Naléa, her parents and the terrible truth she had just discovered: Sheev Palpatine alias Dark Sidious was her great-grandfather. She had told him of her anger, her disgust, her distress. She was blaming herself for not having trusted him, for having used him and ruined their first time.

Ben had listened to her in silence, with an indecipherable expression on his face. Then she had got up and picked up her clothes from the ground. Grabbing her hand, he had tried to stop her as she made her way to the small bathroom.

"Rey, please," he'd begged, but she hadn't turned around. She had just whispered in a weak voice, "Give me a few minutes ..." before removing her fingers and disappearing into the next room.

The water was starting to get cooler and she turned off the tap. She dried herself and opened the sonicator, which already contained Ben's clean shirt. She put it on, left her own dirty clothes to wash in the machine, and returned to the bedroom.

She wasn't able to read his thoughts anymore. He had closed his mind.

Ben was sitting on the bed, his forearms wedged against his raised knees. He was watching the aquatic ballet outside of the creatures tirelessly plying the depths of the lake. He had dimmed the lights in the room and a subtle play of shadows was highlighting the muscles of his back. He was beautiful.

Rey remained in the doorway, quiet and unsure.

"What irony, isn't it? You, the descendant of Palpatine and I, the grandson of Darth Vader …" he murmured, still admiring the underwater scene.

There was no cynicism in his voice, and when Rey approached the bed timidly and came to sit beside him, he remained motionless.

The young woman wanted to cry again so badly.

_What would he do now? Would he push her away? Had she just destroyed everything she had spent so much time building with him?_

Then Ben took a long breath and resumed quietly.

"It was written, Rey ... It's the Force that brought us together."

Her tears finally sank, warm and liberating, and he turned his head towards her before adding:

"I don't care where you come from. I don't care who your parents are. I already told you. You know what I think of the past."

"Ben, it's not that simple. We can not escape the past, what we are, whatever you say."

His giant body was now facing her, and the intensity of his gaze took her breath away. His huge fingers caressed her neck as his thumbs wiped away the streaks of water on her cheeks.

"You still don't understand ... I love you, Rey."

Everything shifted in a split second. The young woman felt herself leaving the ground, swept away by a whirlwind of emotions.

"You are the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me. You saved me. I was lost in an abyss of darkness, and I thought it was the only path open to me, because of who I was, because of Snoke, what happened with Luke and because of what I did to my father. You came out of nowhere with your light, blinding like a sun, and you made me reborn. I'm not afraid to say it now. I should have told you months ago."

Rey's lips were quivering now. Her slender fingers came to rest on Ben's wrists as if to make sure she was not dreaming, that he was here touching her and telling her all these beautiful words.

"I'm ready to do anything for you, to confront Hux, Elias, the whole army of the First Order so that you are safe. I don't want to lose you ... I couldn't stand it."

He pulled his face against hers and when their foreheads touched she realized he was holding his breath. He was waiting for her reaction, for her to say something ... Anything.

"I love you too," she murmured, and he let out a sigh of deliverance before kissing her passionately.

They lay down in the tight bed, glued together as if their lives depended on it - nose to nose, mouth to mouth, legs intertwined and hearts beating in unison. They caressed each other for a long time with gentle gestures. She leaned her head against his chest and Ben's hand went under the side of her shirt, touched the top of her thigh, and came to lie flat over her lower abdomen.

"I'm sorry for…"

"It's not your fault, I threw myself at you."

She couldn't see his face, but guessed he was smiling. She felt the fatigue numb her body. She was physically and morally exhausted, but the pressure was slowly dissolving, and Ben's aura was reassuring her completely now.

"I didn't lie, that night, in the hut on Ahch-To. You are not alone. You'll never be."

She barely heard his words, whispered in her ear, and fell asleep peacefully with the delightful feeling of being loved and safe.

OooooO

She woke up with a start and her knee bumped into Ben's thigh. With haggard eyes and her mind still entangled in the throes of her dream, she tried to calm her breathing and froze for a few seconds, hoping not to have woken him too.

Her dream ... Or a new vision sent by the Force. No. It was not that. It was something different. Rather a memory, vague and imprecise, and she suddenly realized that this memory didn't belong to her. She had picked it up in Ben's mind a few hours ago when she had entered his head, and froze in horror as she thought back to what she had just seen.

_It was impossible ... _

_By the Creator._

He had planned to go to the palace with her, unmasked, to take over the reins of power and sweep away all those who had betrayed him. After all, he was still the Supreme Leader of the First Order in everyone's eyes.

No. She couldn't believe it. Not after all that they had just said to each other. Not after they'd admitted their love.

But the feeling of uneasiness suddenly mounted in her, and she carefully freed herself from Ben's arms to leave the bed and find herself standing, confused and paralyzed in the middle of the room.

Ben was still sleeping. She looked at him for a moment. He was breathing peacefully in front of her.

_No… The idea had just crossed his mind… It was just that, a slightly crazy intention ..._

_But…_

_She couldn't take the risk. She couldn't let that happen._

She tiptoed to the bathroom and got her clothes from the sonicator.

OooooO

His hand closed on an empty space next to him. He opened one eye, then the other, to find that indeed Rey was not here.

"Rey?" he called in a hoarse voice before clearing his throat.

He had never slept so well - or at least not for a very long time - even though the small clock near the door was indicating it was still the middle of the night. He straightened up, hands flat behind him on the mattress and instinctively, the hairs on his neck stood on end.

He no longer felt her presence.

He had taught her to conceal her energy signature to evade other Force users, but Rey had never managed to hide completely from him. The connection between them was too strong.

He jumped up and went to the bathroom to check. No one. The sonicator was empty and his shirt was lying on the floor.

_Had she gone out to meet Finn and Rose? The other rebels? Why didn't she wake him up?_

The young woman's bag was still on the table beside the brooch and her staff was leaning against the chair. Yet a feeling of anguish seized him in the stomach and the nervous tic under his left eye reappeared. He turned abruptly and his eyes fell on the little bedside table next to the bunk.

His lightsaber wasn't here anymore.

OoooooO


	21. CHAPTER 20

_2 reviews... Is it that bad? :-((((_

_Happy New Year dear readers! _

**CHAPTER 20**

**Base Haven- Planet Arbra:**

"Hey! Easy!"

Poe had just violently pushed the prisoner into the small room where Resistance officers were already waiting. His hands were shackled by handcuffs, and Chewie was no more gentle in forcing him to sit on one of the meeting table's chairs. The code breaker was in a bad position and he knew it very well.

"Listen, I understand that you are rather annoyed after what I did, b…b….but as I told your friend on the _Supremacy_, it was nothing personal, I was just trying to save my skin…"

"Because of you, hundreds of our people are dead!" the pilot spat.

"You sold us out to the First Order!" Larma d'Acy protested in turn. "Finn and Rose told us that you left Snoke's ship with a reward. A good package of credits, I bet!"

"Oh! So those two escaped in the end! Yes, well, to clear things up: the destroyer was literally sheared in half as I was about to leave, and my 'reward,' as you say, d…d…did not have time to be loaded in the hold. So in the end, I left the ship empty-handed."

"You scumbag…"

"Poe! Please!" Leia stopped him. "This man disgusts me as much as he does you, but he may have information that will be useful to us…"

Curled up like a poor frightened beast, the code breaker had raised his hands in front of his face as a shield. He could see that the pilot was ready to execute him right here, right now.

"Where did you find him, Lando?" the general asked, addressing her friend standing beside her.

"He was hanging out in a tavern on Aztar. He was drunk and shoved one of my men before dropping this."

Lando took a piece of paper, stamped with the emblem of the First Order, from one of his pockets.

"It's a pass to go to the Cyax system in the heart of Hutt space, signed personally by Hux."

"You were on Aztar? That hive of scum and villainy?"

"It's hard to change, Leia," Lando smiled. "Just like Han, I may have distanced myself from the Rebellion for a while now and gone back to my old ways, but I have always made a point of putting a spoke in the wheels of the First Order. I also kept in touch with Menkel Jas. It was he who told me what had happened to you on Crait and how you had been betrayed by a bastard wearing a Trammil amber ring."

"I knew that this thing was a little too c…c…conspicuous," the man mumbled into his beard, casting a disillusioned look at his left ring finger.

"This guy is an opportunist. He doesn't deserve to live after what he did! He's a supporter of the First Order and should be treated as such!" Chewie roared at the assembly in agreement with Dameron.

"Listen, I am not in any c…c…camp, OK?" the prisoner stammered. "And I think we could make a deal."

"A deal?" the pilot sneered. "You are not really in a position to negotiate anything."

"In fact, I am. I have certain skills that you may find very useful."

"You mean your low-level thief and code breaker skills? Tell us how could they be useful now?" Leia retorted.

"Well maybe, if you were planning, I don't know ... to hack the communication system of the F…F…First Order's flagship…"

The assembly members suddenly shot interested looks at each other while Poe was still staring at the man.

"Explain."

The prisoner finally saw an opportunity to buy himself some time.

"If I was able to get into the _Finalizer's_ central computer in order to have access to the transmission codes of the First Order's fleet of destroyers, you could intercept their encrypted messages, which I would c…c…crack for you of course ... That would give you a definite tactical advantage, right? You would know in advance what Hux and his little gang are up to."

_Was he really able to do this?_

"Would you be able to do that?" Poe asked aloud.

"I would…"

"How could we be sure that the First Order wouldn't notice the intrusion, and that they wouldn't decide to set a trap for us by feeding us false information? Or why not take advantage of it yourself, to trick us again by sending them a message indicating our position?"

"I don't even know on which p… p… planet we're on here!" the prisoner exclaimed.

"I can keep an eye on what he does," Kaydel intervened. "To make sure he doesn't try to betray us again. And if he does, I'll take it upon myself to blast him in the heart."

Having access to all communications from the _Finalizer_ was unexpected. But was it worth it to trust this guy at the risk of being betrayed once again?

"In exchange, I just want to stay alive," he added.

Larma and Poe were undecided. Out of reflex, the pilot turned his head towards Leia to see what the former rebel leader was thinking about all of this. He immediately saw in her eyes what she was ready to give it a shot.

"Very well, let's say we allow you to do this. How are you going to proceed?"

"Oh, I just need to build a small device of my own invention. I think you have everything I need here but, I must admit there is a slight p…p…problem."

"I knew it."

"To be able to intercept the security code of the _Finalizer_, the b… b… box must be at a minimum distance from the central computer, for ten seconds, that's all."

"How much 'minimum distance' are we talking here?"

"I would say ... five hundred meters."

"What!" Poe exclaimed. "You mean we have to be near the ship? Right in the middle of the Hux's armada?"

"Uh ... yes ... for just a few seconds. My device c… c… captures the code, and voilà! Access granted!"

"That's completely insane!"

"Hey, I never said it was going to be easy!"

"No way," d'Acy replied. "Even if we emerge from hyperspace near the _Finalizer _with the fastest _X-wing_ we have, the destroyer's guns and the _TIE_s won't leave us a chance!"

"I can do it," Poe said.

"No, it's too risky Dameron!" Leia said.

"It's worth it, you know that as well as I do. If it works, we gain a huge advantage over them. I can get close to the ship, take the time to retrieve the codes and leave quickly with a jump to light speed. I just have to avoid their turbolasers and their missiles."

"What if it doesn't work? Damn it, Dameron! When are you going to stop playing the hot-head?"

"I can go with him," Lando suggested.

"Come on, Lando, not you too!" Leia almost yelled.

"No, I have someone else in mind to accompany me," Poe retorted, turning toward the code breaker. "I can't fly and manage his machine at the same time. We are going to take a two-seater starfighter and he'll come with me."

"What? Uh ... That wasn't really the plan I had in mind!" the prisoner complained.

"Of course it wasn't, but this is my plan now. So you're going to hurry up and build your device, and when you're done, we're going to pay a little visit to the new Supreme Leader and his charming army."

OoooooO

**Planet Naboo:**

Rey arrived safely at the foot of the waterfall and chased away the sweat plastering her loose hair on her forehead. She had run through the forest from the lake and was now catching her breath, sheltered by a heap of rocks bordering the large basin below the cliff. The clarity of the twin moons lit up the undergrowth, and the sound of bubbling water was covering all other surrounding noise. Ben's saber was hanging on her belt, and she took a few minutes to clear her mind.

She had left the refuge in a hurry by borrowing one of the two small single-seater submarines which were waiting on the lower levels of the village - it was out of the question to swim back to the surface. She had acted as discreetly as possible and had hardly met anyone except a few Gungans patrolling quietly in the alleys.

Finn and Rose were going to kill her, if the soldiers of the First Order didn't do it first. But she had made her decision.

What she had seen in her dream – her vision, whatever – had convinced her to go it alone in this perilous attempt to liberate Maz and Megarana. She knew now that Ben loved her and was ready to risk everything for her. She also loved him more than anything. But admitting her feelings to him may not have been enough to shield him from the dark side's demonic attraction. He had spent more than half of his life engulfed in the shackles of darkness while she, on Ahch-To, had only had a brief glimpse of this raw and harmful power. She'd felt it, sitting cross-legged on that rock, while Luke begged her not to be dragged down. The call of the Dark Side had been deafening, irresistible ...

And it wasn't just all because of Ben. Rose and Finn would never have let her go alone. She had thought a lot and decided she couldn't risk the lives of her friends, all because she'd had the crazy idea of landing on Naboo to play the rescuer. Yet now that it was time to go, she wondered if she had made a huge mistake. It was surely presumptuous to think that she could carry out this mission without any help.

But she shook her head with determination and her optimism took over: she had to do it. She was going to pull this off... with Ben's saber and with the help of the Force.

She then stuck her head out from between the two rocks that she'd been hiding behind and, in spite of the low light, she spotted the small passage about which Isbé had spoken and which led straight behind the waterfall. She had to hurry. It had already taken far too long to get here and dawn was near.

She walked along the edge of the pool, making her way through the tall grass, and rushed into the damp cavity. The ground was slippery and a tunnel now opened before her, deep and dark. The slope was steep, and she suddenly had no doubt that this passageway was going to lead her to the palace built just above. Fortunately, she had thought of bringing a small lamp to light her steps.

After ten minutes of walking, she came to a rusty old door. She pulled on the handle and the door resisted a little. She applied a bit more force, and the door finally opened in an unfortunate squeak that echoed against the mineral walls of the tunnel.

The young woman winced – she could not afford to be noticed right now. So Rey didn't try to open the door any wider when she saw that the opening was just large enough for her to sneak in. The passage was camouflaged by a purple drape hanging on the wall and the young woman gently pushed the thick cloth to the side to take a look at the place behind.

It was a sumptuously decorated room with a huge four-poster bed. There was no one there, and Rey let out a sigh of relief.

Now, she had to find a way to get around the palace without being spotted by the guards.

Beccar Dugg had suggested that she disguise herself as a maid and that is what she intended to do, hoping that no one stopped or searched her. But that was another problem: she had to find the right outfit first, and she doubted she could do it here, in the royal apartments. So she walked gingerly to the exit and glanced down the hall.

No one.

Until now, she'd been pretty lucky.

Perhaps the queen's bedroom was not far away? Or that of one of her companions?

Rey knew that not all of them had been able to leave the palace before the First Order attack, and that the rebel informant was one of those. Megarana's handmaidens had to stay near their sovereign in order to be always available to her, so Rey decided to visit the next room. It was also a bedroom, luxurious and gigantic. But Rey froze in horror when she saw the mast planted on the balcony, on which was hanging a standard displaying the red-on-black emblem of the First Order.

_Kriff… was this Hux's bedroom?_

Suddenly footsteps echoed in the corridor. Without losing a second, her heart pounding, the young woman pressed herself against the wall next to the entrance. Her hand slid toward the lightsaber hanging from her belt and her fingers closed tightly on the handle. She hadn't planned on using it so soon and she remained motionless, holding her breath. A fine figure dressed in a long blue toga entered the room. Rey immediately pushed close the door and the newcomer abruptly turned, covering her mouth with her hands to stifle a cry. She had dropped the pile of clothes she'd been holding in her arms and was now staring at the intruder with a terrified look.

"Please don't be afraid!" Rey begged her in a low voice. "I am part of the Resistance! I don't want to hurt you!"

Once recovered from her surprise, the girl, eyes still wide, began to look Rey over from head to toe.

"Who are you? And how did you get here?"

"My name is Rey. I took the secret passage in the opposite room."

"You're Rey? A secret passage?"

This girl must not have been more than fifteen years old. She had fine and delicate features, even if she seemed very tired. She had taken a step forward and had set eyes on the lightsaber that the scavenger was still holding in her hand.

"By the Creator! But I thought you wouldn't come until tomorrow night! Where are the others? Are you alone?"

"Yes, I am ... But wait a minute ... Are you Beccar's Dugg informant?"

"Yes, my name is Tial."

Rey sighed in relief before finally noticing that the clothes at the teenager's feet were in fact First Order uniforms. The lady's maid hastily picked them up before going to lay them in a loose pile on the bed.

"Has the rescue been moved up?"

"Yes, that's it," Rey lied. "And I need help."

The girl had now regained all the calm and determination that had made her so successful as a spy.

"Very well, wait for me here. I'll get you some clothes. General Hux left yesterday. No one but me is allowed to enter here, so you're not in any danger. Then I'll find a way to take you to the cells in the basement, where they're holding Her Majesty and Maz Kanata. But how will you get them out with all these stormtroopers in the palace?"

"I was counting on my powers of persuasion ... And on the fact that we can escape the way I came in and disappear back into the forest."

"Okay then, don't move, I'll be back soon!"

Tial walked past her and left the room, closing the door behind her.

OoooO

Rey had kept her own clothes on under her disguise. That way, if she needed to fight, she could quickly regain her freedom of movement by tearing off the voluminous sleeves and too-long skirt of the palace uniform. Tial had explained to her that all of the Queen's maids - and now General Hux's - should have, more or less, the same appearance. The teenager had therefore intertwined Rey's locks to create two large braids on each side of her head which joined at the nape of the neck to form a neat little bun. Ben's saber was wedged tightly against her thigh, and she hoped that the slight bump it formed under the fabric of her dress would not attract too much attention.

"Halt! What are you doing here? This area is forbidden access to unauthorized personnel."

The voice of the stormtrooper who had just called them was dry and threatening. The young women stopped, turned around slowly, and found themselves face to face with a pair of soldiers, laser rifles in hand. Rey looked down at the tray she was holding and left Tial to answer.

"We were asked to bring this to the basement. It's for the prisoners."

The two patrolmen exchanged a glance through the visors of their white and black helmets, then turned their attention back to the young girl.

"At this hour? Who asked?"

"Lord Viri Pax. I'm just following his orders. But maybe you want us to disturb him in his quarters to make sure that …"

"No, it's good," the trooper retorted. "You can go."

Tial addressed a small nod of thanks to the soldier, and she and Rey moved hurriedly to the staircase that went down to the prison. Finally out of sight, the teenage girl whispered:

"All right, this may be a little more complicated with the guards watching the hallway to the cells."

"Let's hope they'll be as cooperative as those we just encountered," Rey murmured.

Indeed, two other stormtroopers were on duty in front of a huge metal door. When the two women reached their level, the same question was asked.

"Food and drink for Queen Megarana," Tial announced

"The instructions were clear," replied one of them. "Neither food nor water until the return of Lord Viri Pax. Take it back to the kitchens."

"But it's Lord Viri who …"

"I did not receive notification that the orders had changed. I'm telling you to take it back!"

The soldier had tightened his grip on his rifle. He was starting to get annoyed. Rey felt Tial stiffen beside her. They had to get in, whatever the cost.

The scavenger then advanced towards the soldiers and looked at them with intensity.

"You are going to open this door and let us pass without arguing. We are here just to drop off food for the prisoners. Nothing that requires you to accompany us or monitor us. We will be out in five minutes."

The stormtroopers stood still for a few seconds, and Rey wasn't sure if her mind control attempt had worked. The consistent effort she'd been making since she left the refuge to try and hide her energy signature might be preventing her persuasiveness from working. She didn't know if Viri Pax had already left Naboo, and she couldn't take the risk that he would detect her presence.

"What?" one of the soldiers blurted out, a little disconcerted.

_Kriff ... On the Finalizer, she had managed to manipulate the guard to force him to release her. Now there were two._

She slowly repeated the instructions, concentrating more, and this time the stormtrooper to the right of the door no longer hesitated. He turned to activate the opening system using the bracelet he had on his wrist, and the door slid to disappear into the stone wall. The two men then moved away to give them free rein.

"You will be out in five minutes." The stormtrooper's voice was no longer authoritarian, but rather strange and distant.

"And you're going to give us that," Rey added, pointing to both the blaster rifles and the soldier's bracelet. "Then you will go for a walk outside the palace."

They deposited their weapons on the ground, and the one on the left gave Rey the pass. Finally, they walked away without a word under Tial's stunned gaze.

Rey put down her tray and retrieved the bracelet and the guns, handing one to the teenager as the women rushed into the corridor leading to the cells.

"I forgot that you're a Jedi …"

"I'm not a Jedi," Rey protested. "Do you know where they are?"

"No. But no one is being held here except them."

They began to inspect the inside of each of the cells they came across. They were all empty, and the two young women quickly reached the end of the aisle.

"Over here," Tial lead Rey to another corridor.

The decor had changed - the temperature too. It was darker and the ceiling was made of rock. Rey stopped moving to take a deep breath. It was the place she had seen in her vision. The presence of metal doors with portholes on either side of the corridor confirmed this.

Tial's voice echoed from the bottom and pulled her from her meditations.

"The queen is here!" she exclaimed.

Rey ran to join her and unlocked the cell with the bracelet. The queen of Naboo was lying on the mattress, her eyes closed and her complexion pale. Her hair was undone and her face had been stripped of her ceremonial makeup. Rey estimated that Tial and the queen must be almost the same age. Terrified, the handmaid hastened to go and support her sovereign when Mégarana, who had awakened, tried to get up.

"Your Highness, wait, let me help you! We came to get you out of here! Can you walk?"

"Tial ... It's you."

Megarana was very weak. Her maid, who had kept a small bottle of water with her, made her drink before holding her by the waist to leave the cell.

"Do you know where Maz is?" Rey asked the queen, who raised her arm to point a finger at the opposite cell.

The scavenger opened the door. Maz was curled up on the bunk and jumped when Rey put her hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Maz, don't be afraid, it's me. It's Rey. I've come to get you."

The little alien turned slowly and Rey could see that, like Megarana, she was in a pitiful state. She seemed to have been beaten. Her lower lip was bleeding. A large purple hematoma was covering her left brow bone, contrasting impressively with the orange color of her skin.

"Force, Maz!" the scavenger exhaled, horrified.

"Rey? This is madness, what are you doing here?"

"I told you, I'm taking you back to the base. Can you walk?"

The young woman put an arm around her waist and helped her to get up. "Did they torture you?," she asked, tears in her eyes and her throat tight.

"The Zabrak was not gentle. I'm glad I couldn't tell him anything."

Maz was not very heavy, but they had to get back to Ars Veruna's room. Alas, the plan came to an end when footsteps pounding the ground in rhythm were heard outside the exit. Rey leaned Maz against the wall and stuck her head around the corner to take a look at the end of the corridor. She saw, behind the small narrow window at the top of the door, that a dozen stormtroopers were waiting to enter. One of them was barking orders while complaining about the incompetence of his subordinates. It was Rey who had the bracelet and obviously, the stormtrooper in charge of the squad was waiting for someone to open the door.

"Damn it," she said before turning to Tial. "Is there another way out?"

"No, not that I'm aware of."

Rey tried to analyze the different options they had available - in fact, very few. All the scenarios she could think of ended in tragedy. She then shouldered her blaster rifle and aimed at the control box on the wall. The latter exploded in a burst of sparks. The soldiers were going to be forced to smash the metal partition if they wanted to enter. It would save them a little time, at least.

"Turn around!" she cried, going to the back of the prison.

The thumping sounds of a battering ram against the steel partition soon invaded the corridor, and Tial started to panic.

"They're going to kill us," she stammered, still supporting the staggering queen, who was having trouble moving forward.

Rey tried to catch her breath and keep her cool. All right, it was time to get rid of her costume. The blue toga ended up on the ground.

"Listen to me Tial, do you know how to use this?" she then asked, pointing to the gun that the teenager had hung on her shoulder.

"Yes, I …"

The ram's impacts against the door were getting closer and closer and Rey could hear the sharp squeaks of the inexorably bending metal.

"OK fine. Wait for me here, and get ready to shoot if you see any stormtroopers coming towards you."

The girl nodded wordlessly, and Rey gave Maz the second rifle before going to inspect the corridor, which seemed to be a dead end.

On the back wall, the scavenger noticed a large air vent. A small breeze of fresh air fluttered her hair when she approached to inspect the grate. The walls had to be at least thirty centimeters thick and there was no opening system. Yet Rey saw light filtering through the oblique slats. She could even hear the sound of rushing water on the other side. So it was their only chance to get out.

Suddenly, an explosion shook the whole basement and the cries of the stormtroopers echoed behind her, as did the blasts from their blasters.

They had entered.

"Rey! What are you doing?!"

Maz's little voice was almost drowned out by the bursts of lasers that made pieces of rock shatter a few meters from her. The little alien was back in the game and was machine-gunning the enemy, determined not to give them the slightest chance of advancing.

Rey's brain was spinning and suddenly she found the solution. She activated Ben's lightsaber and plunged the glowing blade into the metal of the grate, which began to melt and drip at her feet. She easily cut the shielding and created a passage wide enough to be able to squeeze through. Daylight invaded the corridor. The wind, saturated with micro-droplets of water, was now rushing through a large hole dug in the cliff just behind the perforated steel.

Rey retraced her steps and, lowering her head to avoid the shots, she grabbed Maz by the shoulders.

"Come on, over there!"

Tial put her rifle over her shoulder and carried the queen with her. Maz left hers behind and followed Rey. The fugitives slipped into the passage and came out on a tiny ledge too narrow to hold four people.

"They're here!" a stormtrooper yelled behind their backs.

They had no choice. Without thinking, the four women jumped and disappeared into the tumultuous waters of the raging torrent.

OooooO

Her lungs were on fire. She was sucked down. The force of the current made her let go of Maz's elbow, but she was still holding Ben's saber in her right hand. Tossed this way and that, she was pumping her arms and legs in a desperate attempt to reach the surface when suddenly her head hit something hard and she almost lost consciousness. She called on the Force in a last-ditch effort to extricate herself from the vicious whirlpool she was caught in, and she finally emerged in the midst of the eddies, inhaling a big gulp of air. She managed as best she could to return to the bank and crawled, exhausted and a little stunned, onto the sandy ground of the basin.

The humming of a ship was heard in the distance, immediately followed by the mechanical roar of approaching speeders. The First Order troops had found them, and Rey got up painfully, coughing, to scrutinize the surroundings of the waterfall in order to see where Tial, Maz and Megarana had gone. On the other side of the shore, she distinguished a blue silhouette helping the sovereign climb out of the water. A small orange creature was by their side, leaning against a rock and catching its breath.

_They're there ... They're alive._

But all of a sudden, a laser beam passed only a few centimeters from her ear and the young woman had just enough time to rush behind a large block of granite. A row of stormtroopers, in close formation, advanced in her direction. On the other side of the waterfall, Maz had taken position to retaliate with Tial's weapon. Then, in the space of just a few seconds, the small green space around the pool turned into a veritable shooting gallery. The soldiers sheltered behind the tree trunks and fired back.

"Get out of here!" Rey yelled at the three women crouching behind the rocks, not sure if they could hear her.

The situation may have been hopeless for her, but her friends could still try to disappear in the forest. The shooting stopped from the other side and the stormtroopers took the opportunity to get closer. It was then that Rey heard Finn's voice call out her name.

The shooting began again, more sustained and more precise. Rey glanced quickly across the pool: Finn and Rose were with Maz.

Two stormtroopers collapsed.

"Hold on, Rey!" This time it was Rose who was screaming to cover the hubbub of the cannons.

But Rey suddenly felt a cold wave rise up her spine and a shiver run through her from head to toe. She returned her gaze to the forest and saw a large, hooded black figure making its way between the trees without worrying in the least about the lines of lasers that were firing in all directions. When the man uncovered his head to reveal a face tattooed with a strange black and red mosaic, Rey's eyes widened in horror. Small horns adorned his head like a crown, and his terrifying yellow eyes were focused on the huge rock behind which she was standing.

It was Viri Pax… He hadn't left Naboo.

Rey closed her eyes for a moment and tightened her grip on the handle of Ben's lightsaber as if to regain courage. A cry from the other side of the pool made her jump. Maz was down. She had just been hit and Finn was pulling her under cover in the tall grass.

_By the Creator… No, not Maz…_

"Get out of here! Get them to shelter, Finn!" the scavenger screamed once more as Rose retorted that they were not going to abandon her here.

The soldiers of the First Order were no more than twenty yards away when suddenly, a strong explosion made the men in white and black armor fly back in a dizzying crash. Smoke and dust invaded the entire area. Rey's ears started to whistle and a speeder, out of nowhere, with cannons smoking, crossed the wood to rush straight at the troopers still standing, before disappearing as quickly as it had appeared into the depths of the forest. The young woman heard the Zabrak howl at the last infantrymen at his side, who made a U-turn at a run to go and get on their own machines parked behind them. The vehicles immediately set off in pursuit of the racer and its driver, whom she had recognized very well.

OoooooO

"Finn, pull back!" Ben shouted in the comlink on his wrist.

"No way! We are not leaving without Rey!" the rebel retorted.

The roar of his speeder was covering up his voice. He had to get rid of the troopers on his heels very quickly so he could get back and help Rey at the edge of the pool.

"Negative! Viri Pax is here and the First Order troops will surround you soon. You must get on your speeders and return to the refuge with Maz and the queen!"

"Maz is seriously injured!"

"One more reason to do as I say! I'll take care of Rey!"

He took a sharp turn and narrowly avoided several low branches. Finn's panicked voice echoed again in the comlink.

"You won't do it alone!"

"I will!" Ben understood perfectly that Finn was reluctant to trust him. "I'm going to get her out of there, trust me!" he insisted.

There was a long silence at the other end of the line.

"OK, we'll retreat. But I warn you, if she dies, you're a dead man!" Finn spat before cutting the call.

OooooO

The dust began to disperse. Rey, who had left her shelter, could now distinguish more clearly the black shadow advancing towards her. One of the soldiers got up and aimed in her direction. Rey concentrated and sent him flying against a trunk with a wave of her hand, just like Ben had done with her on _Starkiller_. But her vision was clouded a bit and she had to make a huge effort not to waver. Her head was hurting, blood beating hard against her temples. But this was not the moment to falter. She turned to face Viri and noticed that the Zabrak was standing still in front of her with a little predatory smile. Then, with a slow gesture, he unhooked his saber from his belt and ignited it. The blade was purple and the color mingled with the light of the first rays of the sun filtering through the trees. They were now alone, face to face.

"You are the famous Rey."

The yellow eyes were trying to pierce her soul. She took a deep breath and ignited Ben's lightsaber.

"And you, Viri Pax."

The Zabrak tilted his head, as if to size her up, before falling on her without warning.

OooooO

Ben stepped on the accelerator and rushed into a small rocky pass with the last speeder still chasing after him.

He knew this place. He used to play here sometimes with his friend Aedan when he was a child. The pilot behind him must be thinking that he was crazy to have taken this passage which left no possibility of escaping his cannon fire. But Ben Solo was not crazy.

When the stormtrooper was finally ready to fire, Ben let go of the handlebars of his speeder, stretched out his hand towards his pursuer and sent the enemy careening toward the stone wall of the canyon to smash in a spray of fire.

That was the last one. He could now rejoin Rey before the entire First Order contingent landed near the waterfall.

OooooO

Ben arrived just in time to see Rey in the distance, struggling to regain her balance, and Viri Pax adopting his favorite posture, leg stretched back and open hand in front of his face.

The shock wave burst from the Zabrak's palm and surged mercilessly toward the young woman, propelling her with incredible force against the rock behind her. Under the impact, she let go of her lightsaber and the crackling red blade went out immediately.

Ben opened the throttle fully and threw the device at full speed towards his former disciple. The latter had just enough time to turn his head towards him before jumping back and seeing the machine crash against two tree trunks, demolishing them on impact. Ben had jumped mid-flight and rolled on the ground. The explosion that accompanied the crash had given him time to get up and go over to where Rey was lying unconscious on the shore.

"No, no, no… Rey."

The young woman wasn't moving but she was still breathing. Ben's hand shook slightly against her cheek.

A troop transport vessel flew low over their heads. Reinforcements were arriving.

Viri struggled to his feet and swiped at the trickle of blood that was now dripping from the corner of his mouth. His expression had changed. His arrogance had given way to a completely different feeling: worry. Kylo Ren was in front of him again and he suddenly remembered that he had never beaten his former master in single combat. But rage was his ally today: he was going to cut this dirty traitor to pieces, and then finish off his girlfriend right after. Elias would be delighted, and he could boast to others that he had killed the famous grandson of Darth Vader.

"You will pay for what you did to us," the Zabrak hissed.

Ben got up slowly while not taking his eyes off Viri. His hand reached out for his lightsaber on the ground and the weapon moved into his palm.

"I can see that there is no point in me trying to explain or justify myself."

"Exactly, let's fight."

So Ben let the Force seep into each of his muscles, into each of his cells, and he felt all his senses sharpen.

Viri Pax threw himself forward and their blades finally collided. The two fighters pivoted, jumped, and dodged with controlled fury, which was very surprising coming from Kylo. His technique, usually based on brute force and wide passes, seemed to have evolved. It was confusing.

Viri made a lunging attack, but Ren countered each strike. He tried to destabilize him with a new shock wave, but his opponent cushioned the impact just by raising his hand before replying with a flurry of blows that the Zabrak had the greatest difficulty in containing. His former master hit him in the left arm and thigh, and he was forced to put a knee on the ground for a few seconds. He expected Kylo to take advantage of it, but the latter did nothing, taking a step back as if to give him time to recover.

_No ... It was impossible, this man in front of him was not Kylo Ren._

Ben's behavior had the effect of rekindling the visceral hatred that the former Supreme Leader inspired in him, and Viri Pax felt transported by a new frenzy of exaltation. The Zabrak straightened up and swirled his blade around his head to hit Kylo in the face. When Ren countered by raising his saber, Viri's knee came crashing into his chest. Leia's son collapsed to the ground on his back. Galvanized by his success, the Zabrak was already pressing the attack, arms raised, ready to strike the killing blow. Carried away by his momentum, Viri did not see that Ren had recovered his lightsaber and was impaled on the red blade. Kylo, still stretched out, drew his crackling saber from the Zabrak's chest, just long enough to roll to the side before the Sith fell first to his knees, then face down on the wet sand of the bank.

OoooooO

Ben started running, carrying Rey in his arms. Viri had not come on foot; he must have arrived here on a vehicle of some kind. And indeed, a few meters further, he discovered a lone speeder hidden behind a large tree.

A first explosion resounded on their left. A second on their right.

The starfighters had been released and were shooting from the sky. But the vegetation was hiding their position and the enemy could therefore only count on luck to try to hit them.

Ben straddled the speeder and propped Rey up against him. Driving with one arm was going to be complicated, but they didn't have a long way to go. First Order troops were arriving, this time from the south, so it was impossible for them to return to the refuge.

He just hoped that Finn and Rose had managed to bring Maz and the Queen back to the Gungan village before it was too late.

For Rey and him, the only way out now was to head straight for the _Millennium Falcon_. And besides, if they could make a spectacular takeoff and take out a few _TIE _fighters along the way, this would provide the perfect diversion for their friends to take shelter with the rescued prisoners. Hux's army might even believe that they had all succeeded in leaving the planet, since there were no more troopers on the banks of the basin to be able to tell what had happened.

So he flew at full speed through the trees, hoping that the _Falcon_ was still waiting for them in the clearing.

When they finally arrived, Ben was unpleasantly surprised to see that the cloaking device had stopped working and the ship had been spotted. The droids had deployed the protective shields, and the freighter was now suffering heavy fire.

_He could only hope that C-3PO or the astromech were watching for them, and would open the Falcon's door._

As if his prayers had been heard, the ramp lowered. Ben was out of breath when the protocol droid came to meet him in the main hold as he placed Rey, still unconscious, on the bunk.

"By the Creator! But…"

Ben raised his hand to signal him to shut up and activated the comlink on his wrist.

"Finn, are you reading me? I'm with Rey on board the Falcon. The ship has been spotted. We must leave Naboo. Were you able to reach the refuge?"

A sizzling sound was heard interspersed with bursts of voice.

"We… Security… Refuge… Madness, you are going… destroyer… stupid…"

A series of explosions shook the entire freighter.

The cry of rage Ben let out startled C-3PO, and R2-D2 came rushing in to join them, issuing a series of frantic beeps.

Ben pointed a threatening finger right in front of the truncated nose of the golden droid.

"You take care of her," he roared before rushing towards the cockpit.

"But, but…" The robot's words were lost behind him. When he arrived at the cockpit, he activated the takeoff commands on the side panel. Then he settled into the chair and pushed all the controllers in front of him. R2-D2 rushed into the cockpit and stopped still near him. The little droid's panic manifested itself again with a series of whistles and electronic trills and Ben, this time, took the time to answer his questions.

"We'll take off and immediately make the jump to hyperspace."

"Bipdubipbipdup!"

"Yes ... directly from the atmosphere. I know it's risky, but it's our only chance."

The astromech's recriminations continued. It was not risky - it was suicide. They might as well fly the _Falcon_ straight into a mountain.

About fifty destroyers and First Order cruisers were stationed in orbit around the planet just above their heads. They therefore had a good chance of hitting one of these ships while trying to escape in this way from the planet's atmosphere, without the on-board computer being able to calculate a safe trajectory. But Ben didn't intend to give it the time to make the calculations, because in a few seconds, the shields would no longer have enough power to absorb the impact of the shots currently pounding them.

Ben activated the other controls and the engine started. The _Millennium Falcon_ rose slowly from the ground and made a U-turn before lifting up slightly towards the sky. When the starfighters finally moved away to initiate another pass over them, Ben Solo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He cast his mind straight ahead, as far as he could, and listened carefully to the universal voice of the Force. He perceived the energy of each living being enclosed in the steel shells above them, of each planet, of each moon, of each pebble floating in the vastness of space that the _Millennium Falcon_ had to avoid. His hand pushed the rudder slightly and the freighter turned a few degrees to the left.

_A leap to lightspeed, straight ahead ... Just a few parsecs to cross the lines of the First Order and take Rey where it's safe._

When the little droid finally understood that he had to secure his metal feet to the cockpit floor, Ben lowered his palm to the red button in front of him, and the _Millennium Falcon_ jumped into hyperspace.


	22. Chapter 21

**Planet Adarlon- Outer Rim:**

Before even opening her eyes, Rey felt a throbbing pain spreading from the base of her neck to her forehead. In fact, her whole body was hurting. She felt like a battle tank had run over her. She was lying in the main cabin aboard the _Falcon_ only wearing her underwear. Propped up on her elbows, the recent events gradually came back to her memory.

Their escape from the palace, the plunge from the top of the waterfall, her friends coming to rescue her, Maz falling under blaster fire, Ben and Viri Pax…

The Knight of Ren had knocked her out without her being able to do anything, so she had no idea what happened next.

Suddenly she heard the stridulations of R2-D2 and the familiar whining of C-3PO in the hallway. The door opened and the droids appeared on the threshold.

"Miss Rey, you are finally awake! Praised be the Creator!" the golden robot exclaimed.

The little astromech beeped and rotated his dome-like head to signify that he was happy she was safe.

"Glad to see you too," Rey replied, sitting on the bunk. "How did I end up here? Are Ben, Finn and Rose here? And Maz? How is she?"

The young woman tried to get up but she was slightly dizzy and had to stay seated.

"Miss Rey, I think you should lie down. Kylo Ren told us that you had suffered a …"

"Where's Ben? And where are we?"

"In the Outer Rim, on a planet called Adarlon," C-3PO retorted. "Kylo Ren is…"

"Ben," the young woman corrected immediately. "His name is Ben…"

The droid was still upset about having to use the birth name of Leia's son, so he waved his arms before explaining that "Ben" had managed to get them off Naboo right under the nose of the First Order. However, all four had been incredibly fortunate not to end up scattered on the outer reaches of the cosmos.

He then went on to tell her everything she had missed. Finn and Rose had stayed on Naboo and had apparently been able to return to the refuge with Maz, the queen, and her maid. Solo had defeated Viri Pax in single combat and returned with her, unconscious, to the _Falcon_.

"Where is he?" she asked again.

"Oh, outside I think, he said he had to check the thrusters. We suffered some damage when the hunters shot us and …"

But Rey was no longer listening to him. Her discomfort was over and she went to get her dry clothes from the small bench near the bed. She quickly put them on and left the cabin, the droids on her heels.

"Miss Rey!" C-3PO exclaimed, "You should rest a little more!"

The scavenger arrived at the lowered ramp. "Stay here," she ordered the droids.

The two robots obeyed and watched her exit the ship without protest.

"Bipdupddupbip," the astromech trumpeted, and C-3PO nodded.

"You're right, my good friend, better leave them alone. I think they have a lot to discuss."

OooooO

A warm, light breeze caressed her face. If Rey hadn't noticed the one bright sun in the middle of the azure sky, she might have thought they were still on Naboo. The _Falcon_ had landed on a hillside, overlooking what appeared to be a village stretched out for a few kilometers at the bottom of the valley. The dwellings were curious, small white cubes with whitewashed walls nestled in the heart of the green landscape.

Rey went around the freighter. No sign of Ben. She began to scrutinize the surroundings and, thirty meters further on, under the immense branches of a willow, she saw his imposing silhouette.

She hesitated for a moment before walking slowly towards him.

She had been stupid. Stupid and reckless. And she had failed. She had wanted to spare her friends, protect Ben ... But she'd just managed to put them in even more danger. Maz had been injured, perhaps fatally ...

Rey felt tears rise and guilt sheared her heart. Slowly, she drew aside the curtain of hanging vines to find him sitting cross-legged at the foot of the trunk. His eyes were closed and he was breathing quietly. He was meditating.

The young woman watched him without moving, her heart beating loud and her hands shaking. She held her breath, knowing that he must have felt her approach. The bond opened, quite naturally, and she was quickly overwhelmed by the tumultuous flow of his emotions: disappointment, sadness, anger, but also relief.

She wanted to speak but the words got stuck in her throat. She was so ashamed and she was so scared. Could he feel how sorry she was?

"Why?" Ben's deep voice echoed under the green canopy and made her flinch.

His eyes were still closed, and she no longer knew if she should stay there or take the opportunity to run away. Long seconds passed before she found the strength to answer.

"I'm sorry."

It was pitiful. She was pitiful.

"I ... I didn't think. Landing on Naboo to save Maz was my idea. I didn't want anything to happen to you, Finn and Rose and …"

"I almost lost you near the waterfall. Viri Pax would have killed you."

"I know, I …"

"There is something else."

Of course there was something else. And she owed him the whole truth.

"When we were both asleep, there in the refuge, I don't know why or how but I had access to this memory or this… intention that you had," she confessed. "The possibility of regaining your place in the First Order and …"

Ben finally opened his eyes and stared at her intently. Rey felt herself sucked into the bottomless pit of his dark pupils. He understood what she was referring to and he didn't contest it.

"And I was afraid that you…"

She wasn't even able to finish her sentences. Pitiful… She knew she had ruined everything, that she had trampled on the trust he had placed in her.

"That I'd give in to the Dark Side again," he finished the sentence for her.

Tears were flowingrunning now, abundant and burning along her cheeks. She contemplated Ben's face, still calm and impassive.

"I am so sorry…"

This time, Rey's words were drowned out by a sob, and Ben stood up suddenly, rushed straight at her and took her in his strong arms. She clung to his tunic as if her life depended on it and squeezed with all her might, wanting to melt into the smell of his skin and the warmth of his chest. She gave herself up completely, not wanting to hide anything anymore, and shattered all the barriers that divided her mind from his. Ben was overwhelmed by her gift; she could feel his heart pounding against his rib cage. His huge body flinched against hers and she couldn't help shivering.

"Damn it, Rey, you scared me so much."

She welcomed his confession as a deliverance, and all the muscles of her body relaxed. They remained glued to each other for a long time without speaking. Ben kissed her hair and slid his hands under her jaw to raise her head and capture her lips, giving her a passionate, desperate kiss.

She was alive. She was with him in safety, and he was forgiving her.

Rey sighed against his mouth, her fingers lost in Ben's dark locks. When they finally parted, he rested his forehead against hers, and followed with his fingertips the line of the braid that ran from her temple to her neck. A smile appeared on his lips and he murmured:

"I like your new hairstyle."

The young woman let out an amused hiccup. She stroked his cheek and placed her two hands flat on Ben's chest, before descending lower and then going up along his arms to his shoulders.

"C-3PO told me you fought with Viri Pax. Are you OK? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine, what about you?"

"I was surprised by his attack. I felt a sort of blast lift me up and propel me back."

"His speciality. He used the Force to create shock waves. We have nothing more to fear from him now. But you have to rest and eat something. I'm going to get supplies in town, okay? You wait for me in the ship and try to sleep a little."

Rey nodded and he kissed her again before taking her by the hand to drag her after him into the _Millennium Falcon._

OooooO

**Aboard a _Y-Wing_ Starfighter - somewhere in space:**

"Stop being such a spoilsport, BB-8! I'm telling you that everything will be fine!"

The little droid, snug in his reserved location just behind the cockpit, continued to grumble in his electronic lingo.

"Sorry but this t…t…time, I agree with Roundy here," retorted the man sitting next to him.

"Take care of activating this device, OK?! We're going to leave hyperspace in two minutes and we will no longer have any real room for error."

"As if I wasn't aware of that!"

"So is it ready?"

"Yes, it's good. Don't panic, pilot!"

"So for your information, I'm Poe Dameron, and my droid up there is BB-8. And you, what's your name?"

"Oh… let's say you can call me DJ."

"DJ? Are you kidding me?"

"If you p… p… prefer to continue with 'kriffing traitor' or 'codebreaker,' that suits me too."

The little robot above their heads beeped twice to indicate that the time had come, and all of Poe's muscles tensed.

"OK hold on, it's gonna shake! Ten seconds to avoid shots from turbolasers, right? Child's play."

DJ pressed a series of buttons and the LEDs on his device all turned green. Poe lowered the lever in front of him and the Y-wing shook slightly before emerging in the middle of the First Order armada.

**Aboard the Finalizer:**

Captain Peavey was talking with the members of his staff on the _Finalizer_ bridge when Sergeant Thanisson raised his head from his console to alert him.

"Captain! A Y-wing starfighter has just emerged from hyperspace near the ship!"

"What?" the officer exclaimed.

He hurriedly crossed the bridge to come and stand beside the young soldier.

"His shields are up."

_Kriff…They didn't need that!_

Ground troops had just been attacked. The queen had escaped with the help, it seemed, of several members of the Resistance, and Lord Viri Pax had been killed. The Supreme Leader was going to be furious. Peavey wouldn't give much for Hux's head when the latter arrived back on Naboo. Kylo Ren must already know that one of his knights had died and that the prisoners had managed to leave the planet - and this time, the redhead couldn't put the blame on anyone else.

"He's rushing straight at us, Captain!"

The last time a Resistance starfighter had faced the First Order's fleet, it was piloted by Poe Dameron. The man had seized the opportunity to destroy the surface guns of one of their battleships because Hux had stupidly let him approach without reacting.

He, Captain Peavey, wouldn't make the same mistake. He was in charge of the leading destroyer in the absence of his superior, and he intended to get rid of this rebellious vermin before it had time to cause any damage.

"Send our _TIEs_, now!"

"Okay! Let's go for a little dance!" Poe cried.

The Y-wing began to zigzag to avoid shots from turbolasers. Dameron was flying low along the body of the dreadnought, and BB-8 was bustling behind the cockpit.

"How long?" he yelled to DJ, his hands clenched on the steering column.

The code breaker was busy fiddling with his machine, his eyes riveted on the small gauge indicating that the loading of the data was proceeding as planned.

"It's not ready yet!"

"You said ten seconds!"

"Yes well, it's taking longer than expected! The ship's shields slow down the data transfer."

"Kriff!" the pilot cursed, just before performing a splendid loop.

The stridulations of BB-8 suddenly became more alarmist. A squadron of _TIE_ fighters burst onto the scene behind them and began to fire. The Y-wing took several hits, but the shields absorbed the impact.

"Hold on BB-8, it's almost over!"

Poe knew there was no point in firing back. There were far too many of them and he hadn't come here for that. He flew past a couple of cannons and continued on his way, approaching dangerously close to the hull, in the hope that his pursuers would not dare to risk touching their own ship. But the fighters didn't seem to care and continued shooting at them.

The pilot felt adrenaline rushing through his veins and peered out of the corner of his eye at the acquisition gauge of the device on DJ's lap, which was progressing far too slowly.

"F…f…five more seconds," the codebreaker stammered, and Poe put his left hand on the hyperdrive switch.

A final shock made them deflect and Dameron steered violently, avoiding one of the turrets.

"Now!" DJ shouted suddenly.

Poe pulled with all his might on the handle and smashed the button with his palm. The Y-wing rushed into the hyperspace tunnel and then disappeared from the viewscreen of the _TIE_ fighters.

"They're gone, Captain."

Peavey let out a growl of frustration. With his eyes fixed on his screen, the young Sergeant Thanisson then thought, deep down, that being a superior officer in charge of one of the First Order's flagships was definitely a very difficult position to hold.

OoooooO

**Planet Adarlon- Outer Rim:**

Rey entered the cockpit and let herself down into the pilot seat. She had slept barely half an hour before being woken up by the gurgling of her stomach. Yet despite that, she felt unable to eat anything. She was so worried about Finn, Rose, and especially Maz.

She activated communications in an attempt to reach Haven. She absolutely had to inform the Resistance of what had happened on Naboo.

"This is the _Millennium Falcon_, do you copy?"

"Rey? Is that you?" Leia, on the other end of the channel, seemed both surprised and worried. "By the Force, where are you? We have been trying to contact you for two days!"

The young woman told her about her mishap on Naboo and the release of Maz and Megarana. Leia listened to her carefully before finally asking in a slightly trembling voice:

"Was Ben with you?"

"Yes, and he saved my life. He fought and killed one of his former disciples, a Zabrak named Viri Pax. But we had to flee aboard the _Falcon_, leaving the others on Naboo. They are safe in the Gungan refuge, but Maz has been injured. I'm so worried about her. We're unable to contact them because of the village's shield."

"We'll try to reach them, but it will indeed be complicated."

In turn, Leia informed her that Lando had landed on Arbra accompanied by the codebreaker who had betrayed them, and that Poe had decided to embark with the latter on a most perilous mission to try to hack the communications of the enemy fleet.

"Leia, this is madness!" the scavenger exclaimed.

"I remind you that we are talking about Poe. Do you really think I didn't try to dissuade him? And then do you really think you have the right to be mad at him, after what you just told me? You and Dameron are equally exasperating!"

As the young woman was about to respond, loud voices and intense hubbub were heard at the other end of the line, immediately followed by cheers.

"By the Force, they're back!" Leia sighed.

Rey relaxed then, happy to learn that the pilot was back, safe and sound.

"Listen, Rey, I have to go and greet them. If they've succeeded and if we now have access to encrypted First Order communications channels, I will contact you to keep you informed, okay?"

"Okay. Goodbye, Leia."

"See you very soon, Rey, and may the Force be with both of you."

Communication was cut off and the general's last words still echoed in her ears for a few moments.

_May the Force be with both of you._

Leia was talking about her, but also about Ben.

_Ben ..._

He had been gone for a while already. The city was a mile or two from here, and he'd walked there.

The young woman's stomach let out a new complaint, and she decided to go take a shower while waiting for Ben's return.

The crew quarters had been renovated just before their departure from the base. Rey had convinced Chewie to give it back its primary function, instead of having it serve as a cargo hold. An "extra-large" bed had been specially designed for the Wookie, and ultimately he'd found nothing to complain about this notable improvement in his comfort on board.

Once out of the bathroom, Rey went to rummage in the low drawers under the bed and grabbed some underwear and a clean outfit: a simple sleeveless tunic and flowing pants that she adjusted to her size with a fabric cord. As she finished undoing her braids, her gaze fell on the bag at her feet. She sat on the bed and pulled a small table over to her, on which she emptied the contents of the satchel. The various components of Luke's lightsaber were still here.

She took out the spare parts and aligned them in front of her, as she had done so often on Arbra. She began to observe all the elements one by one, before focusing more particularly on the crystals. She then closed her eyes and felt the tenuous but persistent vibration that emanated from each of them. Their energy, their power were flowing through her. They only needed to be mastered in order to serve the Force and resonate with the entire Universe

But the insidious feeling of discomfort returned, sneaky and chilling, and an unescapable observation imposed itself on her. She no longer had the right to touch it. She wasn't deserving of it. She was the granddaughter of Darth Sidious, the Emperor, the monster ...

When she opened her eyes again, Ben was leaning against the doorframe. He was watching her without moving.

How long had he been there? She hadn't even felt him coming.

Slowly and hesitantly, he sat down next to her on the bed and placed a small package on the corner of the table. Then in turn, he examined the components in front of them.

"You were right," the young woman declared before letting out a long sigh. "You should take it back."

A few seconds passed before he decided to answer.

"I already have a lightsaber. This one is yours now."

"Ben, I can't."

"Why?"

"You know why."

"No, I don't know. Explain it to me."

A new silence settled before Ben resumed.

"Is it really necessary that I list, one after the other, all the reasons that make you completely worthy of using it?"

"I'm not a Jedi and I never will be."

"It's just a lightsaber, Rey, which has changed hands over the generations. It was not this object which decided my grandfather's fate or my uncle's, or forced them to follow the Dark or the Light Side. They are the ones who made choices, just like you made yours. You chose to help Finn and the Resistance, to save lives, to believe in me against everyone's advice. You have chosen the Light, but you also know that a bit of darkness lives in you. Darkness and Light are an integral part of us, Rey. Suppressing one or the other, repressing what we feel is not the solution. There is no 'good' side - I know this now. I understand it thanks to you. But also thanks to Snoke and Luke. The Jedi have gone astray. The Sith too. Nothing is all white or all black. Because, above all, we are just human beings. We love. We hate. And these emotions are inextricably linked. Throughout my childhood, I heard my family members say that my anger was harmful, that I wasn't allowed to feel rage. Then Snoke kept repeating to me that feeling pity or empathy was a sign of weakness. But I had the right. I had the right to feel everything. Just as I have the right to love you. So listen only to your heart just like I listen to mine today. You just have to rebuild this damn saber to defend what you believe in. That's all that matters. And no one is asking you to become a Jedi. Especially not me."

Rey felt the warmth of his arm brushing against hers. Even seated, he was taller than her by a good ten centimeters. She suddenly wanted to touch him and her hand went to rest on his cheek.

"It looks like you've thought about this a lot," she whispered.

"I had a lot of free time during these four months spent on Tatooine. Time to think about you, but also about everything I did before I lost you on Crait. I was wrong. I can't erase the past. I have to live with remorse and regret until I die."

She stroked his scar with her fingertips, and Ben pursed his lips.

She had to deal with her demons, and so did he.

She knew he would never forgive himself for what he had done to Han. But he had changed. And she hoped for his sake that the weight of his guilt would one day become more bearable.

"You're right," she finally admitted. "Neither can I change who I am and where I come from. I'm just going to try to be me."

"Excellent idea," he retorted, smiling at her. "It suits me perfectly."

Yes… he was right.

Just like him, she had to accept being afraid, being angry, having resentment towards the parents who had rejected her. She had to deal with her dark side and her terrible heritage. And she knew that the Light shone in her, dazzling and infinite. The Force was her ally and it did not judge anyone.

Rey couldn't hold back any longer and captured Ben's mouth. She was feeling alive, complete, and she shivered at the touch of his warm, full lips against hers. She was gladly taking everything he had to offer and she was ready to give him everything in return.

When they parted to catch their breath, Ben murmured, his forehead pressed against her cheek:

"You would actually make a terrible Jedi, Rey from Jakku."

"And you'd be an awful Sith, Ben Solo."

It was at this precise moment that the young woman's stomach grumbled again, snatching a little laugh from Ben.

"I think you're hungry."

She shot him a mischievous look. "I'm starving, yes."

He then grabbed the package on the table and pulled out a ring-shaped pastry. The sweetmeat was covered with a shiny, golden substance, which began to run down along his fingers. The scent was wonderful, and she couldn't help but smile when Ben placed the appetizing ring in front of her mouth.

"Eat," he ordered.

Ben didn't have to say it twice. She bit into the donut and it was an explosion of flavor on her tongue. It was sweet and tender, with floral and spicy notes. Never had Rey tasted something so good. She had just bitten off a piece of pure sunlight, and she closed her eyes for a moment, letting out a small moan of ecstasy. After swallowing, she ran her tongue over her lips to make the pleasure last a little longer while Ben gobbled up the rest of the cake. His fingers were still raised and covered with honey. Rey gently grabbed his hand, guided it to her lips, and began to lick the sweet liquid very slowly off his thumb, looking him straight in the eyes.

In the cabin, the temperature suddenly rose by several degrees and a new glow lit up in Ben's dark eyes. Rey had seen this glow in the past. He'd had the same look on board the _Falcon _just before kissing her in the cockpit. The same also in their room, under the lake, when she had unbuttoned his pants, and Rey couldn't resist any longer. She let go of his hand to claim his lips, and her tongue immediately searched for his. Ben greeted her open-mouthed and trapped her in his arms as if she might escape him again. They kissed passionately, languidly, until they ran out of breath.

"I'm not going anywhere this time ..." she whispered.

"It would be better," he retorted, pointing his hand towards the entrance to the cabin.

The panel slid suddenly and the door locked.

"R2 and 3PO?" she asked, unable to detach her mouth from his skin.

"I told them that if they bothered us, they would end up in pieces, just like your lightsaber."

Rey chuckled and Ben began to explore her neck, leaving a trail of burning kisses along her throat. Then he went up to her ear and the tip of his tongue slid along the outline of her earlobe.

The young woman felt a gentle heat building between her legs, and the muscles deep in her belly contracted deliciously. Groping a bit, Ben managed to spread the sides of her tunic and untie the cord of fabric that was holding up her pants. Her clothes ended up on the ground, leaving her in only her panties. Ben's shirt went to join the heap - his trousers too. Then he began to caress her everywhere, slowly, with precision and application. Rey let out a sigh of contentment. Her skin tingled with excitement whenever Ben's gigantic fingers brushed her body. His lips, insatiable and greedy, lingered on her collarbone before descending to her breasts and gently sucking on her nipples, one after another. An intense thrill ran through her from head to toe. He was so tender, so warm… It was amazing. His lips on her. The scent of him.

Soon, she found herself lying on her back, in the middle of the bed. He positioned himself above her, his immense body propped up on his forearms to better contemplate her.

And then the bond opened.

"Do you feel it?" he whispered.

"Yes," Rey replied, out of breath.

Ben's hand slid slowly down her belly, made a detour to caress the top of her hip and finally reached her core. The fabric of her panties was hot and damp.

_Damn, she was soaked. Soaked for him…_

So he started touching her here too, and he saw her close her eyes and groan. She was beautiful when she let go. Perfectly clear images suddenly appeared before his closed eyelids. It was unbelievable - he was in her head, seeing exactly what she wanted him to do to her. She wanted his fingers to continue to caress her like that, then higher and a little more to the left… And above all she wanted him to finish undressing her.

Ben hastened to comply and stepped away from her to bring Rey's panties down to her ankles. He then caught another thought, which finished igniting his senses. She was wondering how it would be to feel if his lips and his tongue took over from his fingers, there, between her legs.

Rey's eyes widened when she saw him kiss her calf, her knee, then higher ...

_What was he planning to do? Oh..._

Rey's reflex was to close her legs. But Ben was now gripping her hips firmly to hold her in place and her thighs stumbled against his huge forearms. His mouth was incredibly close to her center, and he raised his head to challenge her gaze without moving a millimeter.

By the Creator, she had never felt so embarrassed and excited at the same time. Her cheeks were on fire and her heart was about to explode.

"Ben, you don't have to …" she exhaled, but he cut her off.

"May I?"

_May he? What a question!_

She didn't have the opportunity to answer out loud. Ben's tongue slid over the little hypersensitive bundle of nerves at the center of her dripping folds, and a wave of extreme pleasure consumed her entirely. Her hands twisted in the sheets and she began to moan, unable to hold back.

It was even better than she had imagined and, all decency forgotten, she spread her legs as much as possible.

Ben knew exactly what to do. He was reading her like an open book. He sensed her pleasure as if it were his own, and his blood surged molten hot through his veins each time she let out a groan of ecstasy. His cock was pulsating painfully, compressed in his underwear.

It was unreal how good she tasted. Ben was in torment, carried away by her sensations as she barrelled toward her peak. When her hips began to undulate against his mouth in time with his licks, he had to temporarily block their connection so as to not explode here and now against the fabric of his boxers.

The tension rose again and, suddenly, Rey fell over the edge.

"Yes! Yes!" she cried, carried away by the violence of her orgasm.

Ben, lips shiny and eyes bright, looked up to admire her. She was so beautiful, with her hair disheveled, her eyes closed, and a smile on her lips. Her cheeks were on fire. She looked like a goddess.

"That was …" she breathed, finally letting go of the sheets to grab him by the neck and force him up to her, kissing him passionately.

Ben let their bond open once again, and Rey's hands moved down along his broad chest to reach the elastic band around his waist. She released first his buttocks, then his throbbing cock emerged from the underwear imprisoning it.

"I need all of you, now," she gasped against his mouth, caressing his hardness.

She looked down and, just like during their first attempt on Naboo, she took the time to examine the shape and size of him. He was thick, soft against her palm, and a small translucent drop pearled at the top when she slowly pulled her hand up.

He liked this, she could sense it.

Ben's heartbeat increased and Rey's belly started to heat up again. She had just come, but she wanted more. And above all, she wanted to share this with him now, so she continued to touch him. The swollen tip of his cock disappeared for a moment when she squeezed her fingers up his shaft again, and so did the drop. Ben couldn't restrain a hoarse moan, which made her shiver from head to toe. Then she moved her hand down, and the velvety head was reappeared again, pink and enticing.

Ben was on his knees, shaking between her thighs, and he had stopped breathing.

"I need you inside me ..." she begged.

She was giving him her consent and he was happy to comply. He grabbed his cock with one hand to lubricate the tip against her wet folds. His mouth was only a few millimeters from hers. His black locks were falling in front of his eyes and he felt her shiver under him like a star about to implode.

"You're ready this time," he breathed against her lips before slowly sliding into her.

The young woman whimpered, and Ben's body exulted.

"By the Force, Rey …"

She was still so tight and warm. Their first time had been disastrous, but now she was relaxed and open. He watched himself push inside her, inch by inch, and he saw that Rey was watching too. It was incredibly erotic.

"Rey, it's …"

"I know."

Nothing could stop them now. Rey wanted absolutely everything from him: his body, his soul, his light as much as his darkness. Then he started to move, slowly, in a delicious back and forth and the sensations were unleashed.

Everything merged. Their minds, their respective pleasures, their breaths. Around them the universe disappeared while their bodies exulted in perfect symbiosis. He caressed and kissed her as if she were a precious and fragile creature to be taken care of. It was so good. It was soft and tender, and he held back as best he could.

"Are you OK?"

"Yes, faster please," she whispered, raising her knees a little more against her chest.

The young woman's throat was dry from moaning. Her clit was rubbing divinely against Ben's lower abdomen and she grabbed his ass to encourage him to continue. She was not fragile and she wanted him to know that. Ben accelerated the pace and Rey's body arched a little more. So he went harder, tearing out little cries from her as her hips now moved in time with each of his thrusts. They were perfectly coordinated, their connection was incredibly effective, and Rey let out an ecstatic gasp when Ben, with a powerful thrust, moved her a good ten centimeters up the bed.

"Rey, by all the stars, I …"

Ben's heart was beating too fast. His cock was burning, slipping wonderfully against Rey's inner walls, and she was shuddering under him. She felt full of him, adored, and her pleasure increased, impossible to stop. It was electric, transcendent.

"I think I'm going to come again," she cried, between two groans.

Her whole body was molten. Ben was hammering her now against the mattress, mercilessly and unrestrained, and she reveled in hearing his raspy breath against her neck.

She was him and he was her.

She felt the semen rising up his shaft, ready to fill her up when the unbearable tension was released.

He almost feared the wave that was growing inside her, and which promised to sweep away her reason and everything else in its path.

The table near the bed began to vibrate, as did every inanimate object in the cabin. The blue crystals glowed brightly and the _Falcon's _walls were now shaking too, but Ben and Rey didn't even notice. They were both covered with sweat, eyes locked on each other, fingers entwined, and on the verge of breaking.

"Ben!" Rey yelled and suddenly, without warning, the hurricane swept them both away.

They shared through the connection a dazzling climax. Ben poured into her, shouting her name. And Rey, short of oxygen, her mouth wide open, had the impression of having passed through a meteor shower, of falling again and again into the nothingness of the Universe.

They couldn't have survived that. It was impossible. They must have become one with the Force, just like Luke had, and they were pure energy now.

But Rey understood that she was mistaken when she felt Ben's body tilt sideways to fall back against her side with a thud. Her wonderful lover was still trembling. He kissed her forehead tenderly before taking her in his arms and hugging her tightly.

They were exhausted, still a little dazed, and they remained silent, letting their breaths calm and their minds slowly return to their bodies. The feeling of completeness was sublime and they both floated in a soothing and peaceful twilight, between Darkness and Light, in perfect balance.

The sun had just set on Ardalon, and when Ben looked up at the cabin window, he could see the first stars twinkling in the sky as the sweet scent of Rey's hair filled his nostrils.

"I love you so much," he whispered, his mouth pressed against her temple.

"I love you too," the young woman replied before wedging her head in the crook of his neck, closing her eyes and falling asleep with a smile on her lips.

OooooO

He was gorgeous, sleeping on his stomach, his arm wedged under the pillow, the sheet just covering his ass. Sitting at the edge of the bed, in her panties and bra, Rey had an unobstructed view of his broad and muscular back and she struggled internally not to slip against him again and gently pull him out of his dreams.

_How would she manage not to jump him at the slightest opportunity now?_

The low heat in belly had returned. Ben's body, so perfect, half covered there so very close to her, was a real call to lust.

_No Rey, come on, focus!_

She had just installed the transmitter correctly in the matrix, at the junction between the handle and the blade. The activation button and the dimetris circuit connection strips were in place, as was the lens. Now she needed to place the crystals in the energy chamber. And that's where her power was supposed to come in, and where she failed every time. She knew the instructions by heart. She had read and reread them hundreds of times in one of Luke's books. It was not possible to touch the crystals to insert them into the heart of the lightsaber. To finish the saber and make it her own, she had to "tame" the crystals and connect them, using the Force.

Rey took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

_That's it, breathe ..._

First, she heard Ben's heartbeat, and then the different sounds of the ship: the buzzing of the generator, snatches of discussion between C-3PO and R2-D2 in the lounge. They were debating the origins of the shock that had shaken the _Falcon_ a few hours earlier. That made her smile.

Her spirit extended further and she immediately perceived the surrounding life and the Force animating every creature on the planet. The concert of all those voices in her head was disturbing, but she had to focus on one thing: the crystals. Isolate their signature, merge their power with hers and ask them kindly to please enter the energy chamber.

But it was not that easy.

On the table, the crystals were shining again and Rey could feel their heat spreading through her body. They had their own conscience. They wanted to know why she needed them.

_Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber. I have to repair it._

Was she really talking to stones?

But the crystals were still questioning her. They were reluctant. They had doubts because she was not sure ... And suddenly, another voice interfered in the conversation. A deep, warm and soothing voice whispering in the hollow of her ear.

"Impose your will. Show them who you really are."

It was Ben's voice. He was awake. Eyes still closed, Rey shivered when she felt his hand caress her shoulder and slide down her arm. He was sitting right behind her, his chest pressed against her back and his solid thighs on either side of hers. His face was over her shoulder and his lips were brushing against her earlobe. His aura enveloped her, reassuring and familiar. The young woman frowned, intensifying her effort. The crystals began to vibrate stronger. She was almost there.

"_To activate the crystals and make the saber fully operational, a Jedi or Sith must be at peace with himself and with the Light or Dark Side that inhabits him. He must have no doubt, no fear …"_

Now she was no longer afraid - she was at peace with the light that flooded her heart and with the part of darkness lurking deep inside her. With her origins, with the future she wanted to build... She was claiming her rage, her affection for her friends, her new family, and her love for Ben. She would not blindly obey the Jedi precepts and she would never consent to follow the Sith doctrine. She would go her own way, make her own rules. The Force would be with her and she would serve it as best she could.

When she finally opened her eyes, the crystals were in place in the center of the energy chamber, and Ben put his chin lovingly on her shoulder.

"You did it," he whispered before kissing her cheek.

OooooO


	23. Chapter 22

**Thank you for all the readers who favorited my story ! Don't be shy! Leave me a review !**

**CHAPTER 22:**

The command shuttle landed slowly in the middle of the _Finalizer_'s main hangar.

Yehnu was staring at the ship without moving, on the edge of the pad. The two folded fins reminded him of the cetaceans which had fascinated him so much on Kamino. Snoke had sent him there one day, to negotiate a new alliance with the Kaminoans. His brother Jor had accompanied him, and when their hosts had come to welcome them, perched on these strange creatures, the latter had laughed at them shamelessly. "They look more like scarecrows than horse riders," the young Rattataki had said, and Yehnu couldn't help but laugh.

It was a long time ago, but those moments shared with Jor were still etched in his memory.

The stormtroopers, by his side, stood at attention when the ramp lowered and the hooded black figure of the Supreme Leader appeared. Elias was wearing Kylo Ren's mask and Sylla was following him, as was a young boy with short brown hair. The kid was holding in his hands a small wooden box.

After Jor's death, Kylo, then master of the Knights of Ren, had not recruited a new disciple to replace him and Yehnu had always been grateful to him for not doing so. Bram, on the other hand, hadn't been entitled to such consideration. Elias hadn't even waited a week to ask Viri Pax to spot Force-sensitive young men among those destined to become stormtroopers. A few days later, the Zabrak had found this kid, Tehari, in one of the training centers. The kid was now spending all his time with his master.

When the black-dressed giant arrived in front of him, the Rattataki suppressed a grimace and nodded in greeting.

"How long have you been there?" Elias asked in a tone that left no doubt: he was furious.

"I arrived an hour ago. Commander Zian oversees operations for me on Hays Minor. But I was able to do what you asked: I gathered all the officers on the main deck. They are waiting for you, Master."

"Perfect. Let's go. I need someone to explain to me what happened at Theed."

OoooO

Dopheld Mitaka was wondering what he could have done to the Creator to find himself in this situation again. He'd been unfortunate enough to witness some of the terrifying Kylo Ren's tantrums, and each time he had prayed not to end up cut to pieces on the polished floor of the ship. The Supreme Leader was not wearing his lightsaber today but everyone knew that the object was incidental. Kylo Ren was able to inflict the worst tortures with only a snap of his fingers.

Dopheld was staying still, hidden behind Captain Bash's athletic frame, while the Supreme Leader paced back and forth furiously in front of the line of officers, whose faces remained studiously blank.

The one who had the most to fear was, of course, Captain Peavey. His uniform collar seemed to grip him tightly as he reported on the events that had happened on Naboo.

"It was the _Millennium Falcon_. They performed a hitherto unseen manoeuver. They risked a jump into hyperspace directly from the atmosphere."

"You say 'they'… Who are you talking about?"

"I ... uh..we don't know, Lord Ren."

The Supreme Leader slowed down and turned to stand in front of the soldier. Peavey then showed absolutely remarkable courage - in Mitaka's opinion - by looking up at him and staring desperately at the black mask. The metal surface was split in multiple places. Two engineers had found debris from the helmet in an elevator on the _Supremacy_ several months ago and had brought it to the armory. Now the mask was repaired and the welding traces hardly visible. Goldsmith work.

"When should General Hux return?"

Through the mask modulator, Kylo Ren's voice was as cold as space.

"I don't know Supreme Leader," the soldier admitted, swallowing painfully.

"So you know nothing," the Sith scoffed.

Elias's hand then rose and an invisible force sent the poor officer flying to the other end of the bridge. His body crashed against one of the consoles before falling to the ground like a dislocated puppet. No one was breathing in front of the leader of the First Order and everyone was staring at Peavey's inert figure. The poor fellow let out a weak moan, proof that at least he was not dead.

Dolphed Mitaka huddled even more behind Bash. From where he was, he could gaze at the sadistic smile on the lips of the leather-clad Amazon standing a few steps from the Supreme Leader.

Just before Ren questioned Peavey, a stormtrooper had brought a large metallic suitcase to the young woman's feet, and the latter had laid her hand on it as if it were a fabulous treasure that had to be protected. The second knight, the one with the ashes-colored face, was standing in the background beside a young boy, guardian of a curious box.

The Supreme Leader addressed the whole assembly this time.

"Who should I consider as being in charge of this ship now?"

Bash stepped forward, robbing Mitaka of his protective screen.

"It's me, Supreme Leader," he announced proudly.

"Very well, then open your ears wide… Captain?"

"Uh, Bash, Supreme Leader, I'm Captain Bash."

Elias then went to the communications supervisor and asked that he be given a communication channel to all the ships in the fleet. The technician worked for a few moments on his keyboard before announcing that the line was open. The Sith then adopted a conquering attitude, feet firmly anchored to the ground and hands crossed behind his back.

"**This is Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader of the First Order. I want all troops and the equipment to be restationed on the destroyers orbiting Naboo. "**

Bash's eyes widened. He must have misunderstood.

**"The attack on the palace is an unforgivable provocation which unfortunately resulted in the death of one of my most faithful disciples, and Naboo will pay for it. I want this miserable planet to be destroyed. I want the whole system destroyed. I want these traitors and everyone in the galaxy to see what it costs to challenge the First Order in this way."**

If General Hux had always barked his orders when he addressed his subordinates, the tone used here by the Supreme Leader was calm but relentless.

The masked man again turned his attention to Captain Bash and the latter anticipated the question that was going to be put to him:

"It was a massive invasion, Lord Ren. We have men in the main capitals and on all continents. The complete withdrawal of the troops will, I think, take some time."

The mask tilted to the side. It was a curious sight that left the soldier both fascinated and frightened.

"Very well, Captain, I leave it to you to organize all of this with the other officers."

Bash relaxed a bit and nodded, before daring to ask again:

"But, if I may, Supreme Leader, you talked about destroying the Chommel system …"

"That's right, Captain."

The black figure had suddenly straightened up and seemed larger and more terrifying than ever.

"Our ventral cannons are indeed capable of razing entire cities from space, but only the _Starkiller _base was able to achieve what you plan to do. So I wonder …"

Elias Ren then turned to Sylla and nodded his head in her direction. The young woman replied with a slight smile before rushing towards the exit without delay, taking the suitcase with her.

"You will see, Captain, you will see…" Elias said in a satisfied tone.

OoooooO

"It's not possible, they can't do that."

Larma d'Acy didn't want to believe it. She'd said those words out loud as if to reassure herself. But all the faces around her in the command post on Arbra were expressing nothing but deep concern.

"I don't know if they can actually destroy all of the planets in the Chommel system, but they can still bomb Theed and all the other big cities on the surface with orbital firepower," Leia said. "Naboo does not have a planetary shield."

Dead silence then settled in the command post, the rebels all looking at each other in dismay. Kaydel Ko Connix noticed that even DJ had lost his sly and malicious little smile. He was sitting a little away, very close to the device that had allowed the Resistance to intercept Kylo Ren's declaration of war.

"We are all aware that they can shoot Theed from their ships, but destroying the whole system? _Starkiller_ was the size of a planet and was powered by the energy of a nearby star! So I agree with the commander d'Acy," Snap Wexley replied. "Unless the First Order has a second _Starkiller_ base somewhere, I don't see how they could carry out their threat!"

"Think about the information we have collected on Diyu. They planned to make a new weapon using kyber crystals and this famous mineral. Maybe this is that weapon," Nien Nunb retorted.

Poe added, "In any case, we have to decide quickly what to do. The Gungan refuge cannot be reached because of their protective field. Finn, Rose, Maz, the queen, and a hundred of us are stuck here. Many civilians have left Theed but some remain. And imagine if they do have the power to destroy Chommel. It would be a disaster."

"I can't bear to see again …" Leia didn't have the strength to finish her sentence.

She had held out until then. She had tried to analyze the facts, to keep a cool head in the face of the terrible information they had just received. But she was now at a loss for words. Seeing the First Order once more wiping out other planets, other systems on the galaxy map was no longer conceivable for her. It was out of the question that she would allow this to happen again. She finally opened her mouth to speak, but Poe got ahead of her:

"We have to attack the First Order armada."

Everyone stared at him with large round eyes, as if he had suddenly lost his mind. But at this precise moment, Leia, her heart drowned in sadness and doubts, wanted just to kiss and hug him. Besides, the pilot caught her gaze and immediately saw that she was on his side this time.

"I know they have ten times more ships than we do," he said. "I know it's almost a suicide mission. But we cannot let them do it."

"We are not numerous enough, Dameron. And this time, if we lose, it will be the end of the Resistance, for good," Cova Nell replied.

"Maybe, but I'm not going to sit here idly doing nothing. You?"

The young woman held his gaze and nodded.

"We need to contact Menkel Jas and Girden A'Min, but also all the emissaries that Poe and Rose met on Endor. It's time to test the oath we all made to protect the galaxy at all costs," Leia added.

Lando got up and smoothed the sides of his cape mechanically. "I will also raise the troops. I still have a few loyal friends who'd be delighted to do battle with the First Order."

"We need to evacuate as many people as possible now. They're going to let their guard down while the transport shuttles come and go to repatriate their soldiers and armored vehicles," Commander Dikkit suggested.

"During the attack, we will send cargo ships to recover the rebels from the refuge and as many civilians as possible."

"We have just received a load of Z-67 missiles capable of piercing the shields of their light cruisers."

"We may be outnumbered, but we can cause them a lot of damage during the evacuation."

Everyone started talking at the same time. Adrenaline was diffusing into bodies, excitement setting in to reduce fear and keep them from thinking too much about what they were planning to do.

Still wedged in his corner, the codebreaker slowly raised his hand, like a schoolkid, to ask to speak.

"Uh, I thought of a little thing that m…m…might help."

All faces turned to him, and he resumed his falsely innocent look.

"What could help?" Larma d'Acy asked sharply.

"Well… for example, spreading the news in other systems via the Holonet?"

Poe and DJ looked at each other and the pilot immediately understood what the codebreaker had in mind.

"He's right. We have to warn people. We need to broadcast the video and send a message to the entire galaxy. A cry for help. A call to revolt. I know we've tried to do this many times. But never on such a large scale," the pilot said.

"Will you be able to take control of the entire Holonet, my good man?" Lando sneered.

"I told you, I have very p…p…precious skills and you have rather motivated me to do you a favor."

"I agree with Poe, we must try," d'Acy declared.

All heads nodded in approval.

"Very well. You're in charge of hacking the Holonet," the pilot said, pointing his finger towards DJ. Then he turned to General Organa and added: "Do you think your son might know about the weapon?"

Leia's gaze was lost in the void.

"We must contact Rey immediately," she replied.

OooooO

Rey was asleep by his side and Ben had been looking at her for a good ten minutes. Golden rays were caressing her shoulders, her neck and seemed to want to focus on her lips, a real invitation to kiss. Ben could almost have felt jealous of the sun if he had not had the most wonderful night of his life. Rey and he had made love, passionately, several times, until their bodies and their minds were exhausted and they fell asleep tenderly entwined.

When the young woman finally opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the smile of the man lying next to her. She returned the favor and slid up to him.

"Mmmmmhhh, slept well?" she purred, sticking herself tightly against his chest and breathing in the scent of his skin.

"Like a baby, even if the night was rather short."

"I also slept well," she replied, mischievous, running her fingers through his hair and tasting his lips.

Ben's arms encircled her, flipped her, and she found herself astride him, her mouth still sealed to his. The fire between her legs was revived when she felt Ben's erection rub against her lower abdomen.

"I don't think I could ever get enough of you," he breathed, grabbing one of her breasts in his warm palm while his other hand descended along her back to caress her butt.

Ben's mouth then began to devour her neck and Rey instinctively rolled her pelvis against him.

"I love you," she moaned when she felt her body ignite again.

"I don't want you to leave, Rey, never again," Ben retorted, caressing and kissing her tenderly.

When a metal hand knocked on the door, Rey and Ben unfortunately knew that the enchanted interlude was over. C-3PO's muffled voice echoed from the hallway. "Excuse me for disturbing you, Miss Rey, Mr. Ben, but the communication channel with the Haven base is open."

Without hesitation, the two lovers jumped out of bed and dressed hastily before leaving the cabin to rush towards the cockpit.

Rey sat on the pilot chair and activated the microphone. "This is the _Falcon_."

Ben settled into the co-pilot seat next to her and their eyes met.

"Dameron here," came the familiar voice of the pilot through the loudspeaker.

"Poe…"

"Rey…"

The salutations were short but without aggressiveness. These two had not left on good terms, but now was not the time to add fuel to the fire. A few seconds passed in silence before the pilot resumed.

"So, you couldn't help going to Naboo, huh?"

"Nothing you wouldn't have done in our place if you'd had the chance, Poe."

There was no more hostility between them, but rather mutual understanding. Rey even thought she heard a hint of admiration in his voice. She was convinced that she had managed to make him smile at the other end of the channel.

"Then you're even crazier than me."

"I doubt that, Dameron."

This time, Poe let out a little laugh, but his tone became more serious when Rey asked him if he had any news of the Gungan refuge.

"Not yet. But we have something much more alarming to tell you. Is… Ben Solo near you?"

Poe had hesitated to use his real name. Addressing the man he had considered all this time as their worst enemy wasn't easy for him.

"Yes, he's here," Rey replied, now feverish.

"Fine, so I have a question for him. Is it true that Hux and the guy named Elias, who pretends to be him, are in possession of a weapon having the same strike force as _Starkiller_? We have just intercepted a message from the Supreme Leader asking all the troops to return to the stellar cruisers orbiting Naboo. They intend to destroy the Chommel system."

"What? But that's impossible!" Rey shouted, unable to control the panic reflecting in her voice.

Ben threw her a worried look and against all odds, he replied to Poe:

"Dameron, when I was still at the head of the First Order, we planned the construction of five prototypes of miniature death stars. They had to be powered by a source of energy resulting from the fusion of kyber crystals and an ore discovered on Sato."

It was the first time that Poe had heard the voice of Leia's son since his rough interrogation session on the _Finalizer_. He had to make a real effort to swallow the slew of insults which he would have liked to hurl at the Knight of Ren at this precise moment. However, he allowed himself to use the most sarcastic tone he could take.

"Miniature death stars, just that!"

"It was four months ago," Ben added, without enthusiasm.

"The factory we attacked on Diyu must have been supplying generators for these machines," Poe realized. "We knew about the new weapons and the hybrid crystal, but we had no idea that it was about rebuilding death stars. And do you think these weapons could be operational today? Four months, it seems too short to finalize such structures, even if the construction of the generators could have been resumed elsewhere."

"You're right, it must be something else. Who knows what Hux and Elias cooked up after I left. This hybrid crystal offered many unsuspected possibilities, according to Hux."

"Listen Poe …" the young woman continued before taking a break and turning her head towards Ben.

The latter stared at her intensely. He knew exactly what she was going to say, but Rey seemed to be waiting for his approval. He then pursed his lips and nodded in silence.

"… If you plan to attack the fleet of the First Order, the _Falcon_ will certainly be very useful. Tell us exactly what we can do to help you."

OooooO

"There, there, easy …"

Rose was sitting on the bed, near Maz, and supporting her to allow her to drink some water.

"Thank you, my child," the little orange woman smiled weakly before lying down, suppressing a grimace of pain which caused Rose's worry to spike.

"Do you want another dose of painkiller?"

"No it'll be okay, this is not the first blaster shot I've ever received, even if I hope it will be the last!"

Suddenly Finn burst into the bedroom.

"Rose! You have to come right now!"

Maz ordered her to follow the young man with a wave of the hand, and the two rebels rushed out into the paths of the Gungan refuge. They finally arrived, out of breath, in the great hall where King Miggi Tan and the other resistance fighters were gathered. Beccar Dugg was speaking to the small group.

"The First Order's army issa leaven. All skeebeetles issa taken off. Spy warna us."*

The faces remained skeptical for a few seconds, but the Gungan assured them that the information was reliable.

"How ? I thought the shield…" Finn interjected

"Otha means."** Beccar answered.

"They don't leave without reason," the voice of Chalek Sarr, a member of Naboo's royal council, was shaking. Everyone then turned their head towards him, afraid of what he was implying. "They are preparing something," he added.

Finn then stepped into the middle of the room and addressed King Miggi Tan.

"Your majesty, we must lower the shield. You must contact the Haven base."

OooooO

Poe Dameron was studying the data displayed on the console of the command post. Cova Nell was absolutely right. They had absolutely no chance to win.

Their fleet counted a total of ten interstellar cruisers, fifty starfighters, twelve bombers and eight CR90 corvettes. Five times fewer ships than Hux's armada had. And the forces of the First Order were not even complete there. Poe suspected that the general still had several destroyers scattered across the galaxy.

The rebels had contacted all their new allies and reinforcements had started arriving on Arbra. Lando had successfully assembled a fleet of freighters large enough to allow the evacuation of hundreds of people. Poe didn't even want to know what he had promised or who he'd promised it to get all of this transportation. Supporters had flocked from Corellia, Ryloth, Ord Mantell, and Raydonia, but Dameron knew that would not be enough.

The senior officers, of which he was a member, had agreed on a plan of attack. There would necessarily be huge losses. The main thing was to cause the First Order as much damage as possible while buying time for the cargo ships to land on Naboo and rescue as many rebels from the refuge and innocent civilians as they could. Above all, it was necessary to prevent the destroyers' guns from razing Theed. If the First Order decided to sacrifice their remaining troops on Naboo and activate their super-weapon, they were all done for. However, several _X-wings_ had been sent on reconnaissance flights throughout the Chommel system to try to collect information on the possible presence of new death stars, and they had found absolutely nothing.

Behind Dameron, the room was in full swing. Everyone knew what they had to do and was aware that they had to hurry. It was already a miracle to have been able to gather so many people and ships in such a short period of time. BB-8 was fidgeting at the pilot's feet and beeped to express his concern.

"I know, BB-8, it's not looking good at all…" Poe sighed, his eyes still riveted on his screen.

But the pilot was suddenly pulled from his meditations by the petite figure that had appeared at the entrance to the room. Dressed in a brown jacket, khaki pants and boots, Leia was standing there looking at him resolutely. Poe frowned.

"Leia, no," he exclaimed.

"And who will stop me, Dameron? You?"

"If necessary, yes!"

"I would like to see that!"

Chewbacca, his crossbow in hand, burst behind Leia. The princess was just tiny next to him and the scene was pretty funny. But the pilot didn't want to laugh and the Wookiee groaned in his direction.

"There's no point in acting tough, Chewie," he replied. "It's too dangerous for her."

Poe knew, however, that he would not have the last word.

"Listen, Dameron, I have been fighting for thirty years alongside all these people. I'm not made of glass, and I still know how to use a blaster. As you said so well, we need everyone available. I'm of course not planning to fly an _X-wing_, but Chewie and I will be piloting one of the transport cargo ships to Naboo."

"Leia, you …"

The trio was interrupted by Kaydel Ko Connix. The young woman had a headset in her hands and was not sure who to hand it to.

"Excuse me, this is to record the message for broadcast on the Holonet," she declared. "DJ is ready to start hacking. We will have a window of only two minutes. That's all the time we can spare if we don't want to be tracked."

Poe naturally turned to Leia, and Kaydel followed suit. The general sighed before giving them a tired smile.

"I have made far too many speeches in the past. I give way to the younger generation."

She accompanied her words with a hand gesture towards Poe, and the latter froze in the middle of the room. The other resistance fighters all stopped what they were doing. Dameron glanced around and realized that all eyes were on him. Larma d'Acy encouraged him with a nod.

"I'm not a great orator like you," the pilot retorted.

"No need for beautiful sentences or complicated turns. You just have to speak from the heart," replied Leia.

Kaydel then handed him the headset, and the pilot took a deep breath before grabbing it and heading for the console where DJ was waiting.

"Ready?" the codebreaker asked.

"Ready," Poe said.

OoooooO

On Adarlon, in the cockpit of the _Millennium Falcon_, Ben and Rey were checking that everything was working perfectly before takeoff when the communications indicator light began to flash. They had connected to the Holonet, as Poe had advised them, and Rey pressed the activation button to hear the new transmission.

Elias' chilling words echoed through the cabin. Rey stared at Ben and saw his jaw tense with anger. Then Poe Dameron's deep, clear voice took over.

"**To all the people of the galaxy, as you have just heard, The First Order armada is currently in orbit of Naboo and is preparing to attack the Chommel system. The threat is very real, I'm afraid. The First Order has already reduced the Hosnian system to dust, and with it the hopes that we had placed in the New Republic. As in the days of the Empire, tyranny is about to reign once again."**

In the hydroponic farm, in the heart of the Tatooine desert, Sovan and Shalim Real were sitting side by side in their small living room, staring at a screen.

The face of a man with short brown curls had just appeared. In the background stood several other people, and the young woman immediately recognized one of the figures of the Rebellion, Princess Leia Organa. The widow slid her hand over the table to tighten on her son's.

"**If we allow them to do so, the First Order will establish a regime of terror from which no one will escape, from the inhabitants of the Core to the Outer Rim. A regime that no longer hesitates to destroy entire planets, entire systems, to establish its supremacy. The dark days we have known under the imperial yoke will soon be back. "**

In the main square of Galactic City, in the middle of the immense skyscrapers of the capital city of Coruscant, the message of Poe Dameron was being broadcast on giant panels, and all onlookers had stopped to listen.

**"They are convinced that they are the strongest, and that is what they will become if we let them. But the Resistance is still alive. We are always here."**

Unkar Plutt wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Niima's tavern was crowded, but no sound came to disturb the speech of the Resistance pilot whose bluish hologram sizzled above the holocom planted in the middle of the overheated and dusty room.

"**And I know that everywhere in the galaxy, men and women also fight every day to challenge this tyranny, to save those they love, to protect their children."**

All the satellites floating in the vastness of space relayed the information from Anoth to Kamar, from the Core worlds to the Unknown Regions. The surviving senators of the New Republic who had been fortunate not to be on Hosnian Prime on the day of its destruction were listening attentively from their native planets.

**"So I'm begging you. To all those who have not forgotten. To all those who cherish freedom. To all those who feel the courage to do something."**

Aboard the _Finalizer_, Elias Ren was contemplating his fleet of stellar cruisers and the ballet of troop transports leaving and joining their respective destroyers. Operations were continuing as planned, while this cursed rebel was making his little call for shabby revolt on the Holonet. Their communication system had been hacked and his intention to make Naboo pay was exposed. But whatever. The transmission codes had just been reset, and his purpose had not changed. What was this band of renegades hoping for when addressing the people of the galaxy? The First Order was inspiring fear. A fear that nothing could overcome.

"**We cannot close our eyes and believe that everything will be fine. Tomorrow, maybe your world will be next on the First Order's sinister list. This war is not the business of a handful of individuals. It is everyone's business. In any case, we, here, will not give up. We will try our best to defeat the First Order. We will continue to fight, to the death if necessary. This is Poe Dameron, member of the Resistance. May the force be with you. "**

OoooooO

« The First Order's army issa leaven. All skeebeetles issa taken off. Spy warna us. »* = The First Order's army is leaving. All the vessels are taking off. Our spy has warned us.

« Otha means. »** =We have other means of communications


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Hux still couldn't believe how lucky he was. His plan had worked perfectly. When he shut off the holocom and turned to Colonel Palkott, the latter stared at him with a completely bewildered look.

"I can't believe what I just saw. These scoundrels have been playing with us this whole time!" the soldier said. "So Kylo Ren murdered Snoke, and then one of his Knights, Elias, betrayed him and took his place!"

"I can assure you that I am as shocked as you, Palkott," Hux had replied, with impeccable acting. "And yet the evidence is there. My men were very lucky to find these recordings. This will allow us to act quickly and expose the entirety of this sham! Snoke was a visionary and a great leader, but he should never have trusted Kylo Ren. Just as that fool should never have counted on his little band of bullies to assist him. These people never did care about the First Order. They thought only of recruiting new disciples to swell the ranks of their sordid Sith sect. Elias Ren has actually spent the past four months hiding behind the mask of Supreme Leader and fooling us all. He fooled the whole galaxy. And I don't give much for our heads if he learns that you and I have discovered the fraud. This is why we must inform everyone and put an end to this masquerade! The chain of command makes it very clear: I am the highest-ranking officer and should take command now."

Hux saw the colonel look down at his boots and start to think. Deveron Palkott was a veteran of the Empire who, after Palpatine's death, had fled to the Unknown Regions and had wisely waited and worked for the rise of the First Order. This fervent admirer of Snoke had always hated Kylo Ren and his dark knights. Armitage also knew very well that the old man did not like him very much, but that he was very attached to discipline and military values. So, as soon as his shuttle had left hyperspace, he had decided to discreetly board the _Fellfire_ in order to first rally the colonel to his cause, and from there, all the other senior officers of the fleet.

Hux had had no choice.

On his way back to Naboo, Hux had been contacted by Lieutenant Mitaka via a secure communications channel and informed of everything that had happened since his departure. Viri Pax had been killed by rebels and the Supreme Leader, also aware of his little escapade on Sato, awaited him aboard the _Finalizer_.

Elias was going to make him pay for all of this.

Mitaka had also told him that Sylla had gone back to the palace, undoubtedly in order to pick him up there and deal with him as soon as he got off the shuttle.

In short, his future with the Supreme Leader was now compromised.

So Hux had shown Palkott the video of Kylo Ren murdering Snoke and fighting alongside this girl. He had recorded the scene on a data key and made several copies entrusted to Mitaka. But there was also something else on this key. Something he had also shown Palkott. Something that would allow him to get out of the mess he was in by implicating Elias Ren.

For months, he had sought to obtain a means of pressure against him, something that would allow him to remove the darksider from his pedestal ...

Two weeks earlier, just before going to Naboo to take possession of the palace, Armitage had accidentally bumped against a small Z-63 unit cleaning up his quarters. Mad with rage, he had almost kicked the little robot when something suddenly clicked in his head: that day on the _Finalizer_, while he was crawling painstakingly towards the exit after having narrowly escaped Kylo Ren's attack of Force lightning, he had passed on all fours in front of a unit of the same model, waiting near the door. These little robots were everywhere and usually went unnoticed. True guarantors of cleanliness on board, they were ignored by everyone. The Z-63 units were programmed to stand quietly in a corner, to scan the room and to only start working when the area was clear of any occupant. But this day, amidst the chaos and shattered furniture on the floor, the droid had been activated. Hux remembered very well having seen his audio receiver flashing as he'd passed by him.

The general had dared to hope that the droid had the conversation between Elias and Kylo stored in his memory card.

He'd ordered Mitaka to find the robot and, miraculously, the young lieutenant had succeeded. Sent for servicing due to the overvoltage detected that day in the room by the on-board computers, the Z-63 unit had been put on standby, stored for weeks and practically forgotten in the depths of one of the _Finalizer_'s workshops. The data collected by the droid was that which his subordinate had brought him on Naboo just before he left for Sato.

Hux still couldn't believe he was so lucky as to have trapped Elias just as he had been able to trap Kylo Ren. And all thanks to a ridiculous domestic robot. On the audio message, Elias Ren had revealed his true face but also his links with Snoke and the murder of Jor.

All was working just as Armitage had planned: Colonel Palkott finally put an end to his procrastination and looked up to address the communications manager installed in front of his console, below the bridge:

"Sergeant Elkarr, start a holographic transmission to all the other ships in the fleet," he ordered. "General Hux has a message to address to all the senior officers in charge of First Order vessels."

A slight smile appeared on the redhead's lips when he saw the operator busy at his station. His hands crossed behind his back, the general faced the large picture window of the _Fellfire_ which offered a breathtaking view of the stellar destroyers scattered around the planet. The _Finalizer_ was among them, straight ahead. When Sergeant Elkarr confirmed to him that the line was ready and that he could start speaking, Armitage Hux turned to go to the middle of the bridge, his chest puffed out and his air triumphant.

OoooooO

Sylla descended the ramp of the shuttle with her suitcase in hand. The luggage was rather large but not really heavy. What was inside was fragile and well-packed in an Arkanian polymer shell.

The young woman, hair and cloak fluttering in the wind, crossed the main square of the palace, escorted by a squad of stormtroopers. First Order transports had been flying back and forth constantly for hours, relaying men and equipment to the flagships. The armored vehicles, the M6-TT, and the patrol droids were being loaded into the holds of heavy cargo ships outside the city, while here, battalions of soldiers in white armor marched in quick time to reach their boarding point and take the shuttles or turbo-elevators leading to the spaceport at the bottom of the cliff.

Elias, however, wanted the city to be the last to be abandoned, and several hundred infantrymen were still roaming the deserted streets and guarding every corner of the royal palace.

The small group took the central pathway to arrive at the staircase leading to the interior of the building. At the top of the steps, Sylla ordered the soldiers to wait there, in the forecourt, before entering the hall. The click of her heels on the pink marble floor echoed up into the heights of the cathedral ceiling as she made her way towards the throne room. The Supreme Leader's instructions had been clear. She had to put the device on the royal desk and activate the force field around it. Elias did not want to take any chances. Once the protective system was in place, absolutely nobody could touch or move the bomb anymore.

OoooooO

The doors of the turbo-elevator closed as he tried to catch his breath. He had just run along the endless corridors of the _Finalizer_ to reach the stern of the ship, killing in the process all the stormtroopers he had met. The order had been given to neutralize him, and although his mastery of the Force was exceptional, he could not confront all the soldiers present in the destroyer. The only way he could get out of it was to flee, and that as discreetly as possible.

A deaf fury was igniting every fiber of his being. He was so angry with himself for not having eliminated this far-too-ambitious general from the start. Like Kylo, he too had underestimated this vermin Hux by believing that he could be easily manipulated. He was kicking himself for it today.

He had suddenly gone from the status of Supreme Leader to that of a man with a death sentence on him.

How ironic… It was exactly what he had done to Kylo, four months earlier…

No more masks could be deluded now. Besides, he had left it on his bedroom table the second Hux finished his speech ordering all the troops and officers to put him to death. The redhead had just officially taken control of the First Order armada.

All hangars housing starfighters had been cordoned off. Hux probably expected him to try to force his way to one of the TIEs, using his powers. So he surely had whole squads of infantrymen armed to the teeth to wait for him there.

Reaching level (-5), where the empty shuttles were parked ready to repatriate the troops, was therefore the only chance he had to leave the _Finalizer_ without being spotted. Naboo's evacuation was still underway and the next wave of ships was about to take off.

The doors of the turbolift finally opened and Elias jumped out. The few technicians preparing the freighters jumped together when they saw the blond giant moving towards them, threatening. They had also heard Hux's words via the intercom and immediately understood that the one who had just arrived was none other than the man everyone was looking for. Whether General Hux liked it or not, dying to try to stop him was not really part of their plans. After all, they were just mechanics. So they all ran off to the nearest exit without hesitation.

The knight watched them run away and headed for one of the cargo ships without wasting a second. The console on the side announced the impending takeoff. Everything was automated and in the control of a pilot droid, with a preprogrammed trajectory. He was therefore going to be taken to Naboo. He would have preferred to find a ship with a hyperdrive system, but he really had no choice. At least he had the possibility of rejoining Sylla and especially his command shuttle stationed at Theed.

The young woman was the only one he could count on now.

He had abandoned Tehari in his quarters. Impossible to drag a child behind him as he tried to escape from here, no matter how promising he might be.

Elias tapped on the console screen and the droids finished tearing the mooring cables from the transport shuttle. The knight was about to take the access ramp when suddenly his whole body stiffened. A familiar feeling echoed through the Force. Anger at least equal to his, but which was not directed against General Hux. Elias Ren slowly turned to see the doors of the turbo-elevator close behind the hooded figure of Yehnu.

It almost made him smile.

He and his old sidekick were going to have a final discussion before he left.

The Rattataki advanced towards him and drew his lightsaber.

Elias watched him without moving.

"Where are you planning to go like this?" Yehnu spat.

Elias could see it. Yehnu could barely restrain himself from swooping down on him. Rage and hatred were consuming him entirely.

Well ... Snoke had told him very often: feelings were a weakness that clouded judgment ...

"Well since my days as Supreme Leader seem to be definitively over, I intend to take this shuttle that you see here to meet Sylla on Naboo," replied Elias with the greatest calm.

"And do you really think I'm going to let you run away after what I've just learned?"

"Knowing you, I am convinced that you will, of course, try to stop me."

Yehnu's jaw tightened, as did his grip on the hilt of his lightsaber. He was ready to explode and did not appreciate the provocative attitude of his brother's murderer at all. But Elias looked at him with arrogance and was not in the least impressed.

"I'm going to kill you," the Rattataki announced simply by detaching the clip from his coat and dropping the garment on the floor.

Elias also freed himself from his cloak, grabbing the saber attached to his belt. The fight was inevitable and the blond knight activated his weapon. A scarlet blade materialized in front of him, startling Yehnu into moving backward slightly.

Elias was jubilant.

Until then, in front of the others, he had always used the old lightsaber with the blue blade which he'd built when he was still the padawan of Luke Skywalker. But now everyone knew the truth: he too had been Snoke's apprentice. So he no longer had any reason to hide his real weapon, which contained red Malachor crystals. No unstable beam. No unwanted crackling. Unlike Kylo's, this saber was of perfect design, and the scarlet reflections projected onto Elias' face gave his eyes a demonic aspect.

"Ah, you're going to kill me …" Elias's voice had turned into a howl. "Well, let's see that, my friend."

The soles of his boots anchored firmly to the ground and a predatory smile plastered on his face, Elias Ren prepared to face his opponent.

OooooO

R2-D2 entered the cockpit and headed for the pilot's seat. Rey was busy checking the shields one last time before they left hyperspace near Naboo. Poe had contacted them a few minutes earlier to give them the departure signal. The Resistance was ready to take action. All available vessels were on their way to confront the First Order armada and attempt to stop Elias Ren and Armitage Hux. The little droid beeped to signal his presence and the young woman turned to him.

"Is everything ok, R2?"

The astromech snorted, letting out a series of plaintive chirps. He was worried and wanted to let people know.

"I know," she replied, lovingly placing her hand on his gray and blue metallic head. "You worry about her, and me too."

R2-D2 hissed, flashing his motion sensor, and Rey gave him a sympathetic smile. She understood his dismay. The poor droid had had no luck with his former masters. Both Anakin and Luke had abandoned him, and now they were dead. All he had left was Leia. The attachment of this little robot to members of the Skywalker family was really touching.

"I haven't known her for as long as you, R2, but I know that Leia is an exceptional woman. She is much tougher than all of us put together. Chewie will make sure nothing happens to her and so will we. We'll cover the freighters against possible attacks by the First Order starfighters. As soon as we will leave hyperspace, we will head for the Gungan refuge. Leia and Chewie are supposed to pick everyone up there, including Rose and Finn."

She was no happier than he was to know Leia would be on Naboo. The general wouldn't end up in the middle of the fighting, but the situation would still be risky, especially if Elias Ren triggered his infamous weapon.

"Listen, stay here and come and tell me when we're about to arrive, okay? I'm going to have a chat with Ben."

The droid settled in front of the console while Rey went back to the main hold. When she arrived in the room, Ben was sitting on the bench and inspecting his lightsaber. Ever since she'd found him on Tatooine, and every time she looked at him now, she couldn't help but notice how much he had changed. For one thing, he'd swapped his dismal black outfit for a light shirt with long sleeves, brown pants, a pair of boots, and a tan leather jacket. The similarities with Han's dressing style were obvious, but the young woman had of course refrained from pointing that out to him. And she knew that the metamorphosis was deeper, that Ben was no longer denying his Light Side. She was so proud of him.

Unexpectedly, when Poe had told them that Leia would take part in the rescue mission, Rey had felt him wince. He had remained silent but his discomfort was almost palpable. Like R2, he was worried about her. Another positive point to add to the upheaval that had taken place in him. He still loved his mother, and if the circumstances had not been so bad, Rey would've almost smiled. But right now, she didn't really want to. Ben's face was closed and he was adjusting the hilt of his weapon when she came to take a seat on the bench.

"What are you doing?" she asked to break the silence.

"Correcting the length of the beam. Due to the instability of the crystals, my lightsaber needs to be adjusted regularly."

The nervous tic under his left eye reappeared. Ben was trying to control his emotions, but this time the stakes were quite different, something which Rey was also well aware of. They were going to take part in something epic that would certainly seal the fate of the Rebellion for good, and the young woman's stomach was tied up in knots. She took a deep breath before declaring:

"We'll be arriving soon."

Ben finally put his saber on the dejarik table. Rey noticed the small jaw movement he often made when he was searching for words. She had finally gotten to know each of his micro-expressions and no longer even needed the bond to be open to know what state of mind he was in. She only had to read his face. So before he could answer, she added:

"We'll be outnumbered."

Ben looked up at her. His eyes were shining with a glow she knew well now - a glow saying he was also afraid for her.

"There will inevitably be a lot of casualties, Rey. This Resistance attack on the First Order fleet is madness."

He had avoided talking about his mother, Finn, Rose, Poe, and Chewie. But Rey could feel it: he cared about the outcome of the fight, about what could happen to them, too. He no longer belonged to any camp. Both the rebels and the First Order wanted one thing only: his arrest or his death. However, the fact that he was aboard the _Millennium Falcon _today_,_ ready to help the Resistance, meant that he had decided to fight for freedom, for the fall of dictatorship and terror, and Rey's heart sank.

"I'm mostly afraid for you," he said finally.

His gaze was too intense, desperate. Rey moved closer to him and gently put her lips on his. He responded to her kiss by stroking her cheek and hair. They didn't have much time left to spend together, alone and safe. They were heading straight for chaos, for their destiny. A fate they both had chosen: to fight side by side. And Ben didn't want to be anywhere other than with her at this precise moment.

Yet he suddenly released his grip. His whole body froze and his gaze focused on an invisible point in front of him. He had just felt something that had escaped Rey, and she was worried now.

"What?"

Ben's jaw tightened and his face took on a strange expression, a mixture of surprise and dismay.

"Tell me." The young woman gripped his arm.

Still in shock, he seemed to emerge from his torpor and turned his head towards her before answering:

"Yehnu is dead."


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24:**

On the main deck of the _Fellfire_, Armitage Hux was fidgeting.

"Sergeant Elkarr, why don't I already have Captain Peavey online?" he railed at the operator.

"I'm trying to contact him General, but the _Finalizer_ is …"

"General!" Corporal Cherm, responsible for the sensors, suddenly cut off his colleague. "Several ships have just come out of hyperspace!"

Hux rushed towards him to see around twenty points of light flashing on the radars.

"What do we have?" he asked without taking his eyes off the screens in front of him.

"_CR90_ corvettes and _CC9600_ Corellian frigates, _X-wings_, _B-wing_ starfighters, a _Starfortress MG-100_ and a Mon Calamari star cruiser. There are also bombers."

The ships obviously belonged to the Resistance, and Armitage's eyes widened. He had a hard time imagining that a handful of rebel vessels were planning to attack his fleet. He had heard Poe Dameron's fool's statement via the Holonet too, but he had believed it to be just a bluff. An empty declaration to make the galaxy believe that the Rebellion still had a breath of life.

However, here they were, before him. Although Hux found their little attempt ridiculous, the timing was bad. He had better things to do right now than deal with these pitiful pests.

"Their starfighters have started firing on the _Ravenous_ and the _Desolation_. And part of their bomber fleet is approaching the _Harbinger_."

Hux's face was now contorted with anger. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. He had the opportunity to get rid of them once again, and he knew he could rely on the firepower of his warships as well as his _TIE_ squadrons to do so.

He climbed back on deck and watched through the large panoramic bay as the Resistance ships advanced and enemy missiles attempted to pierce their high-tech shields.

"Send all our starfighters and arm all the cannons," he ordered. "Reduce this band of renegades to dust immediately."

OoooooO

The beams of the turbolasers streaked the void of space all around him. His cockpit vibrated and the noise of the ionic guns of the First Order destroyers was deafening. The shock wave of a turret exploding to his left made him shift slightly from his trajectory and he corrected his position by tightening his fingers on the handle and pulling to the right with all his strength. Too bad he wasn't in his trusty Black One. That starship had exploded with the rest of the other _X-wings_ when Kylo Ren had launched a deadly torpedo into the _Raddus_ hangar four months earlier. But it didn't matter. No time to give in to nostalgia when a pair of _TIE _fighters was chasing and shooting at you. He made several loops to avoid being atomized by his pursuers and yelled in the com for the attention of BB-8:

"BB! Bypass the auxiliary thruster circuit, I need more speed!"

The droid propped up in its usual place at the back of the cockpit and released a series of beeps before plunging its telescopic arm into the heart of the electrical system to accomplish what was asked of it.

"Nell, Wexley, protect the bombers with your squadrons!" Poe cried after opening his internal transmission channel. "We must secure their approach to the destroyers! Merken and A'Min, I'm counting on you to destroy the ventral cannons on their dreadnoughts. If they manage to fire, Theed is lost and so are our friends."

"Copy that," the pilots responded one after the other.

The few reinforcements led respectively by Merken Jas and Girden A'Min rushed towards the _Merciless_ and the _Sovereign_. Meanwhile, the rest of the _A-wing_ and _B-wing_ battalions under Poe's command were struggling with the enemy fighters while trying to cause maximum damage to the First Order space fortresses. The gun batteries on the rebel cruisers were firing continuously, and those on the Hux's ships were replying. They had to buy enough time for the freighters to recover the maximum number of people on Naboo. If they could allow hundreds or even thousands of innocent civilians to flee, then it was worth it. The group of transporters, led by Leia and Chewie, had taken advantage of the surprise attack and the few minutes of camouflage offered by the jammers developed by Rose. They had evaded the First Order radars and rushed straight to Theed. They were fifty in all, and each had received his instructions to go to a very specific region of Naboo. Poe was now simply praying that they'd accomplish their mission as fast as possible.

The trills of BB-8 resounded in his helmet. A laser shot had brushed against its photoreceptors and the little droid was shaken. The fighters behind them were tough. Dameron had done the most delicate maneuvers to try to throw them off, but to no avail - they were hanging on like Ralltiir's leeches. Poe plunged sideways, along the gigantic structure of an enemy destroyer, the _TIEs_ still in his wake. The pilot then spotted one of the turrets ready to fire in the distance. He abruptly forked and went up along a narrow trench dug in the hull. The enemy followed him blindly.

_Perfect._

He pulled hard on the handle to come out and find himself in front of the glowing cannon mouth. He barely escaped the hellish fire that came out of it, but as he had expected, the two starfighters after him were not so lucky and were vaporized by their own flagship.

"How nice of you to give us a hand, Hux!" Poe laughed, turning around to destroy the turret that had just saved him.

But when he then glanced to his port side, it was to see Kaiden Scorbo's _A-Wing_ explode in a spray of flame. Two other rebel ships were destroyed. A couple of bombers farther on suffered the same fate. More and more deadly swarms of _TIEs_ escaped from the destroyers' hangars and pounded the Allied corvettes and cruisers, whose shields were beginning to weaken.

The Starfortress MG-100 called "Holdo" was the brand-new flagship of the Resistance. Its construction in the Mylvayne shipyards had been kept secret and had been completed only a few days earlier. Admiral Dupp Zar was at the head of the crew and right now, the vessel was directing all its turbolasers at the _Subjugator_, a First Order destroyer in their sights. But the enemy's protective screens seemed impenetrable.

The space all around them was nothing more than a vast battlefield dotted with metallic debris, burning plasma and missiles firing in all directions. For the moment, Resistance forces were holding on. But for how long?

OoooooO

The troop shuttle 453-XTZ2 landed in the middle of the Theed spaceport. When the access ramp lowered, the stormtroopers who were waiting in close ranks to embark were a little surprised to see Elias Ren, the right-hand man of their Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, descend. The squadron leader raised his fist to tell them not to move and walked up alone to meet him.

He froze at attention in front of him and noticed that the knight had his hand on the saber hanging from his belt.

"Sir, apologies…" the soldier stammered, a little confused by the defensive attitude of the Sith, "But we haven't been informed of your arrival. It was intended that this unit would evacuate on board the carrier you just left. Have orders been changed?"

Elias stared at the trooper's white and black helmet. He couldn't see his face, but he felt that the infantryman was wondering why the First Order second-in-command had a split lip and a bruise on his cheek. Good. The soldiers on Naboo had not yet been informed of what had happened on board the _Finalizer_. So he had to hurry before Hux discovered he was there and asked the men still present at the palace to ...

A soldier was running in their direction, blaster rifle in hand.

Elias' body tensed.

_Too late. Perhaps Hux had informed them, after all._

But the stormtrooper came to a halt and saluted them before announcing in a panicked voice: "Stormtrooper JT-1088 to the report. We just received a transmission from the destroyer _Finalizer_. Resistance ships are attacking the fleet."

The helmeted head of the squadron leader then turned to Elias, awaiting some directive to be followed, and there followed a moment of hesitation.

_The Resistance was attacking the Armada? Unbelievable. It was too good to be true. He had to take advantage of the fact that people still believed he was part of the command circle._

But as the Sith was about to respond, something on the skyline caught his eye. Above the vast green expanse of the forest, a formation of several vessels was heading towards the spaceport, and they weren't part of the First Order fleet.

Elias closed his eyes and then projected his mind towards the durasteel cabins. The crews were reduced, about twenty people in each ship. But there were also three faster starfighters flying alongside in support, which were on them in a few seconds. When they started shooting at a group of TT-BTs stationed on one of the landing strips, panic invaded the area. The stormtroopers desperately sought cover. Elias' first reflex was to scrutinize the various launch pads to locate Sylla's command shuttle. The transport was not here, so surely it was parked in the royal hangar.

_Kriff ... So he had to go up to the palace to find the young woman._

If she had followed his instructions, the bomb was now in the throne room, protected by the force field. As for the holocron, it was well hidden in the inside pocket of his coat.

"Prepare to strike back!" Elias yelled. "Use all the armored vehicles available and shoot down these ships, is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," confirmed the squadron chief, who ran to join his men.

Elias set off in turn on the airstrip. The spaceport was still under fire from the three rebel _B-wings_, but he arrived safely in front of one of the turbolifts leading to the palace. All he had to do was find Sylla and leave this cursed planet aboard the command shuttle.

OooooO

More than half of the cargo ships were on their way to the capital. The starfighters were distracting the bulk of the First Order infantry concentrated at the foot of the cliff. The rest of the transports had reached other major cities on the continent. Nobody could miss the arrival of the Resistance ships now, proudly displaying their logo, a symbol of freedom throughout the galaxy. Everyone in Theed had heard Poe Dameron's message. And the withdrawal of the First Order's troops only confirmed that the pilot had told the truth. A disastrous fate awaited Naboo, if not all the occupants of the Chommel system, and those freighters were their only hope of escaping the total annihilation of their world.

Chewie flew over the capital and barely dodged a _M6-TT_ shot. He passed the palace and headed north, towards the Gungan refuge.

Leia felt sadness and panic take hold of her again. She couldn't help but think back to that terrible day when, trapped aboard the Death Star, she had stood by as a helpless witness to the destruction of Alderaan. This endless war which she had waged practically all her life had really decided to take everything from her: her biological and adoptive parents, Han, her son, her brother and now Naboo? As if she hadn't been punished enough …

This beautiful place was her mother's home planet. It was the place where Anakin and Padmé had loved each other, had married and had been able to be happy before everything turned bad. She had planned to end her days here, in her mother's house, when the galaxy was finally at peace, or when she, too, no longer had the strength to fight.

Everything was so peaceful, so beautiful there. She regretted so much that she had not been able to take advantage of it when she had the opportunity. With Han, with Ben ...

With a swift gesture, she wiped away a tear and focused on what she had to do. She could not falter - not now. They were there to save as many people as possible. Their cargo ship was intended to retrieve all the occupants of the refuge, and that is what they were going to do.

The shiny waters of the lake soon appeared, as did the small clearing in which the _Millennium Falcon_ had landed a few days before. Leia swiveled in her co-pilot seat to address Korch and Sergeant Silks in the back.

"We must proceed to boarding as quickly as possible."

"Yes, ma'am!" the soldier retorted.

As the landing gear touched the ground, dozens of figures emerged from the forest. The freighter had managed to contact the refuge, and all the survivors had abandoned the underwater bubbles to reach the woods and the meeting point. The ramp lowered, revealing the silhouette of Leia, who watched them approach.

Megarana and King Miggi Tan were leading the group. Maz was led on a stretcher carried by Ferr Cox and one of his soldiers, Finn and Rose following them. The Gungan and Naboo refugees then began to enter the freighter. Once inside the ship, the young queen could not help taking the rebel princess in her arms. The Gungan king also thanked her warmly.

"Praise the Force, Maz, aren't you ashamed to scare us like that?" Leia exclaimed when the stretcher bearers passed in front of her.

The orange-skinned little woman, still very weak, winked at her and smiled.

"I am hale and hearty, my dear!"

Leia had time to gently shake her friend's hand before Maz was carried away to join the others. She then went to meet Finn and Rose.

"I am so happy that you're all well."

"We're also happy to see you, General," the young woman replied.

"How is it up there? Any news from the _Millennium Falcon_?" Finn worried.

"Our men are holding on, and the _Falcon_ is on its way."

"Come on, Finn," Rose whispered tenderly, "We have to go help them settle into the ship."

The young man stepped onto the ramp in front of her, sighing. She knew he wanted to join the fray, alongside Poe, C'ai, Cova ...Their family members were fighting over their heads and were ready to risk everything for them. Rose then closed her eyes and gently stroked the crescent-shaped pendant hanging from her neck.

OoooO

Elias and Sylla met at the foot of the grand staircase leading to the royal office.

"Elias? What are you doing here?! Why are rebels starfighters firing on the spaceport? And Yehnu ... I felt that he…"

The blond knight perceived the slight tremor in the young woman's voice.

"Yehnu attacked me, Sylla. He joined forces with Hux to overthrow me. I think they have been plotting together for quite some time. So I had to kill him."

"Yehnu ally with Hux?" The young woman had a hard time hiding her confusion.

"You and I can no longer return to the _Finalizer_," Elias continued. "Hux showed all the officers the video of Snoke's murder and he got another one in which the four of you were attacking Kylo. All the soldiers of the First Order are therefore also aware that we have deceived them for months."

"But they must have seen that Hux was there too when we …"

"He used the situation to his advantage and took power. I could not do anything to stop him. And on top of this, the Resistance is now attacking the fleet in orbit. We have to get out of here."

Sylla took a deep breath and stared at her master. She was now bubbling with a dull rage. She was on his side, and he had to admit to having underestimated her. He never thought she would be the last to stay, at the end.

"Sylla, listen. For the moment we have to retreat. But I swear Hux will pay for what he did."

Elias tightened his fingers on Sylla's shoulder, and the intensity of his gaze testified that he would keep his promise. The young woman nodded, and the blond Knight smiled.

"Have you done what I asked?"

"I was about to deploy the force field when I saw the starfighters attacking the troops. Then I felt your presence and decided to come and find you," she replied.

"Very well. In that case, let's finish the job before leaving this place. Once we're far from here, you and I will activate the holocron. Hux, the First Order and the Resistance will no longer be a problem for us."

OooooO

Poe had always been certain of one thing: he would quit this world at the controls of an _X-wing_. As late as possible, he hoped, but he didn't see himself dying any other way.

And now, finally, that moment had arrived.

Two new _TIE_s were sticking close to him from behind. His left propellant was about to fail and a laser shot had damaged his cooling system. Acrid smoke was gradually invading the cockpit.

BB-8 didn't even beep anymore. The poor droid was content to keep the shields active to allow his master to hold out a little longer.

Poe made a desperate turn to the left, trying to shake off the starfighters. But he knew very well that it was useless. Their sighting systems had just locked on his ship. His air brakes were no longer working and all the alarms on his dashboard were howling. He was going to be atomized in a few seconds.

But suddenly one of the _TIEs_ chasing him turned into a fireball.

Poe couldn't believe his eyes. _Who had shot?_

A second detonation sounded and the pilot was suddenly rid of his second attacker.

On his right, the familiar silhouette of the _Millennium Falcon_ emerged, her cannons letting loose a continuous stream of fire straight ahead.

"Poe, don't you have anything to say?" Rey's voice echoed in his headset.

"By all the stars of the galaxy, Rey! I've never been so happy to hear you, you can believe me!"

The Corellian freighter operated an incredible maneuver to avoid the firing of turbolasers from a First Order battleship, then made a large U-turn before taking up position near Poe's starfighter, the shields of which had just dropped.

"Wow! Finn and BB-8 told me you were good, but I'm particularly impressed," the rebel said.

"I sincerely appreciate the compliment, Dameron."

The voice that answered was not Rey's this time. Poe's jaw tightened, as did his hand on the controls of his _X-wing_. The young woman was not in command of the _Millennium Falcon_. It was Kylo Ren.

"Your _X-wing_ is ruined. You have to take cover," Ren added.

BB-8, in place behind the cockpit, stridulated energetically. He totally agreed with Kylo Ren.

"Ok, I'll go back to the Holdo. It's our flagship," Poe sighed.

"We'll cover you."

The atmosphere inside the cockpit had become unbreathable. Poe didn't know what to say anymore and was content to keep his starfighter stable while the _Falcon_ escorted him to the rebel ship. To talk, as if nothing had happened, with the one who had killed Lor San Tekka, had ordered the massacre of so many innocent people, had killed his own father, and had tortured him without mercy, would have seemed inconceivable to him a few months ago. And today, Kylo Ren had just saved his life.

_Kylo Ren… who was actually Ben Solo._

The smoke was starting to burn his eyes and lungs. The extraction system must also have failed, not to mention the abnormal rattling that resounded under his seat, and which was anything but reassuring. Poe then hastened to add into his transmitter:

"You must get to Theed and make sure that the evacuation progresses. We'll continue to fight here. And tell them to hurry up."

"Poe, we can help here a little more." The scavenger had joined the conversation again.

"Rey, do what I say!" he retorted before starting to cough.

This time he could not escape it, he quickly adjusted the oxygen mask recovered from the small compartment to his right and took a deep breath before hearing Ben Solo announce to him:

"As soon as you are safe, we'll head for Theed."

The _Falcon_ fired again to ward off enemy fighters who wanted to hinder their progress towards the _Holdo_. Finally, they arrived safely near the StarFortress, and the shields were lowered so that the _X-wing_ could enter the hangar. Two seconds before it touched the ground, the ship's two engines failed simultaneously and it landed abruptly but without too much damage on the runway. The cockpit window opened and the smoke was expelled from within.

Poe Dameron was finally able to breathe normally, so he opened communications one last time with the _Falcon_, which was now heading towards Naboo.

"Rey, Solo ... Thanks. Thank you both."

OooooO

The minute the _Millennium Falcon_ entered the atmosphere of the planet, a feeling of unease had taken hold of him. Did Rey feel it too?

The tension increased as they got closer to the surface, and Ben knew exactly what it was. He would have recognized their energy signatures among a thousand others: Elias and Sylla. They were there. On Naboo.

But what were they doing here? Why weren't they on one of the First Order ships? They had to warn the Resistance fighters on the planet.

The green domes and obelisks of the capital were soon in sight.

"Ben…" Rey had just burst in behind him in the cockpit, a little breathless. "I feel something ... or someone ... the Dark Side. Here."

"Elias and Sylla are at Theed," he confirmed in an annoyed tone.

Rey then sat on his right and reactivated communications.

"This is the Millennium Falcon. We are on our way to Theed. Do you copy?"

"Rey, it's Leia. We are on board one of our cargo ships, ready to take off."

The connection was bad. The young woman could barely hear the words of the elder, drowned as they were in sounds of crackling and static.

"We have recovered all the refugees. Finn, Rose and Maz are with me."

"Good, but you must leave the planet as soon as possible! Elias Ren is on Naboo."

"What? Where? At Theed?"

"Ben and I felt his presence."

A short silence followed the young woman's words.

"If he's here, then …" the general stammered. But her son did not let her finish. In a solemn and strong voice, he announced firmly:

"Leia, he may have brought the bomb with him and decided to drop it somewhere in Theed. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling. Also, the _Falcon_'s sensors indicate that there are still one or two squadrons of infantrymen near the palace. First Order forces are responding to your starfighter attacks from the spaceport."

Ben glanced over at his companion, and realized when she nodded her head that they were both thinking the same thing.

"Rey and I are going to land, find him and try to stop him. You, you get out of here and you make the jump to hyperspace."

Hearing her son address her directly touched the princess right in the heart. She was in the middle of the transport's cockpit, surrounded by the other rebels, who dared not say a word. The crackling on the channel became worse, and Leia was suddenly seized with indescribable terror. Ben and Rey were about to confront Elias in an attempt to stop the destruction of an entire system. Ben had come back to the Light. She felt it now in the depths of her being, through the Force, through her mother's instinct. This return was synonymous with hope. The hope of one day seeing her son again, of holding his hand again, of finally telling him all the things she'd needed to confess to him for so long ...

Unfortunately, that hope was in danger of going up in smoke. Again. She then made a superhuman effort to keep her voice from trembling.

"Ben, Rey, you can't go alone! This is crazy!" Interference on the line intensified. "Ben!" she repeated. "Do you copy? Ben!" she almost screamed, and Chewie, seated in the pilot seat, let out a dejected groan. Communications had been cut off, and she felt Finn fidgeting behind her too.

"We must call them back!" the ex-stormtrooper cried. "They can't do this! Or we have to go help them!"

"We can't do that, Finn! We must leave now," one of the members of the Naboo Council objected, thinking above all of the hundred refugees who were waiting in the hold.

Leia's face regained its natural impassiveness. She had found herself in much more critical situations and she felt all eyes were on her. She may have been "removed" from her rank of general, but not here. Not now.

Here and now, she was Leia Organa again, leader of the Resistance, and everyone acted as if it had never been otherwise.

"This transport will take off," she cut off. "Chewie, I'm counting on you to defy the laws of gravity and move this ship away from the Chommel system as quickly as possible. You have to contact the other freighters and tell them to do the same."

Finn was about to protest again, but Leia intervened before he had time to open his mouth.

"But before that, all the people who volunteer to go to Theed, to lend a hand to Rey and my son are invited to follow me. We'll gather weapons in the hold and find the speeders hidden in the woods."

Silks' and Korch's jaws dropped as Finn let out a little victory cry.

"We will come with you," Ferr Cox said, flanked by his six fellow Gungans.

"I'm coming too," Rose exclaimed.

Finn's face fell, but he couldn't imagine preventing her from taking part in the expedition after being the first to offer to go. Leia gave the group a nod.

"We? Am I to understand that you intend to go there too, Leia?" Silks asked, a little surprised.

No need for an answer. The look that the general gave him was sufficiently explicit. Finn and Rose had already left the cockpit. Ferr Cox and his men followed. A groaning Chewie then got up from his seat and walked past Leia to disappear into the back of the ship.

Did she really think the Wookie was going to let her go to Theed without him? A tender smile appeared unbidden on Leia's face.

"Sergeant Silks, you are apparently the new pilot of the freighter," she announced. "Please lead all these people to safety."

OoooooO


	26. CHAPTER 25

**Planet Naboo:**

"Hold on behind!" Rey exclaimed just before Ben turned sharply to the left to avoid the laser beams from cannons on the ground.

"I hate space travel!" C-3PO repeated for at least the thousandth time since he set foot on the Corellian freighter.

R2-D2 replied that he had only to go and shut himself up in the captain's cabin and turn off his photoreceptors.

The tanks of the First Order, ready to leave Naboo, had finally been redeployed to defend the spaceport, but the objective of the _Millennium Falcon_ was quite different: the ship had to reach the royal hangar.

Ben and Rey had already done a quick overview of the city to find that there were very few enemy soldiers left occupying the streets. Some had even been targeted by Naboo citizens who had not yet fled the capital.

If the _Falcon_ managed to land on the outskirts close to Theed, the two young people could reach the Queen's residence without much difficulty. But before that, Ben wanted to have confirmation that Elias and Sylla had indeed taken refuge between those walls.

They dodged other shots before making their first passage in front of the hangar door. Ben's old shuttle was there, and the white shapes of a dozen stormtroopers were running in all directions, trying to reactivate the protection shield. He and Rey had to hurry.

"Rey, go back down to the ventral turret. I'm going to turn around."

The young woman nodded and rushed downstairs, settling into the seat and priming the laser cannon.

The _Falcon_ did a big loop and started to weave once again between the green and blue beams of the First Order's artillery. Ben positioned the ship in front of the gigantic door and Rey pressed the fire button. The burst of lasers hit the command shuttle with full force, and the white-hot blast of the explosion ravaged a good part of the installations.

OooooO

"Lord Ren, a rebel ship has fired on the hangar! Your shuttle has been destroyed!"

Elias and Sylla suddenly turned towards the stormtrooper that had just burst into the throne room. A hubbub was heard from the hall. The squadron leader was barking orders for his men to get into position.

The tall blond clenched his teeth and tried to keep a straight face. He nodded to the infantryman to tell him to join his unit.

"Elias, they're here," Sylla whispered.

The knight held Sylla's dark gaze. She was right. Kylo and the girl were approaching, and Elias knew that the few stormtroopers outside would not be able to stop them.

The confrontation was inevitable. However, if he and Sylla managed to get out alive, they no longer had a ship to leave Naboo and the First Order would then take over. They had nothing left to lose now.

Elias took the holocron out of his inside coat pocket, and when he looked up at the young woman, he saw that a fierce gleam was now shining in her black irises. Sylla was giving him her agreement.

"Let's do it," she decreed.

OooooO

The adrenaline was rushing through her veins. Blaster in hand, Leia fired continuously on the soldiers blocking their way. She then saw Finn signaling to his comrades to cover him, and when the rebels began to spray the enemy lines with heavy fire, he left his corner of the wall to take refuge behind the gigantic stone statue installed in the center of the square. He pulled the pin out of the grenade he held in his hand and threw it in the direction of the firing stormtroopers. The ensuing explosion decimated the line of shooters.

The way was cleared, and the small group of rebels advanced towards the palace.

OoooO

The _Millennium Falcon_ had landed in a small vacant lot near an equipment factory. While C-3PO was given the task of guarding the ship, R2-D2 had accompanied Ben and Rey aboard a landspeeder found on the spot, and they'd crossed the city limits together to reach the East tower of the palace. The droid was then sent towards the entrance to case the place. It was risky, but there was little chance that the troops of the First Order would pay attention to a small astromech wandering in the streets of Naboo. Using his internal comlink, he had informed Rey and Ben that the forecourt was guarded by twenty soldiers. They didn't want to waste time neutralizing them, so the two young people had decided to go through a service gate leading into the small inner courtyard below the main building. The tower was huge, but a small window, five to six meters above their heads, would allow them to enter the gallery.

Rey quickly wiped the sweat from her forehead. Ben stopped for a few seconds, noticing that she was suddenly very pale.

"Rey, are you OK?"

"Yes, I ... I'm fine. We've got to keep going," she replied, looking up at the window to estimate the height.

Ben grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn to him.

"I feel it too…" he announced, staring at her. "The emanation from the Dark Side which radiates from inside this building. And that has nothing to do with Sylla or Elias."

So it was not only her panicky fear of coming upon the Knights of Ren that was putting her in that state. There was something else, something at the very heart of the Force. An echo, both distant and close. Dark and captivating. A whisper, pleasant and bewitching, which was calling her. And that call was so familiar… Rey struggled to swallow, but her mouth suddenly became as dry as the Jakku desert.

"You seem ... affected," Ben added, visibly worried.

"It's nothing. How are we going to reach the window?" she asked, turning her attention to the opening. They didn't have time to dither or ask themselves existential questions about this strange dark force disturbing her. "It's way too high. And we have no rope or grapple," she sighed.

The sound of cannons and laser rifles was heard behind the walls separating them from the main square. A Resistance starfighter had been shot down. There were three left, still circling above the palace, targeting the ground troops. Ben in turn glanced at the small window and took a few seconds to think. He still wondered what Elias could do here and why he had so few men with him. If it was just a matter of dropping the bomb in the palace, any stormtrooper could have done it for him. Sylla and Elias were there for a very specific reason and they had to be stopped.

Ben pulled away from the stone wall and, under the dumbfounded gaze of Rey, he gained momentum, ran and soared into the air. He grabbed the window sill with both hands and hoisted himself inside with disconcerting agility. At the bottom of the wall, Rey stared at him in blissful admiration.

So she took a moment to react when she saw Ben's arm reached out to her from the window, hand open, to encourage her to jump too.

"Rey, your turn. Use the Force!"

_Lifting stones, attracting objects, opening doors... She still couldn't believe she was able to do all that._

She stepped back and concentrated as best she could, trying to convince herself that gravity no longer existed. When she took off from the ground, for a fraction of a second, she believed that she would not succeed, but Ben's fingers gripped her wrist and she was pulled up to finally land on the gallery's beige marble floor.

Once inside, the feeling of discomfort redoubled. The weight on her chest grew heavier and the whispers in her head louder. An icy breath slid down her skin. She could almost smell once again the iodized scent and the humid atmosphere that reigned in the depths of the cave on Ahch-To. A deep voice was murmuring barely audible words in a hypnotic tone, speaking of darkness, strength and power...

She had to get a hold of herself, stay focused on their goal.

Ben and she were about to face two of the Knights of Ren, and she couldn't let herself be overwhelmed by this ... thing that was trying to make its way into her subconscious. Ben approached her and gently caressed her cheek.

"Rey, we have to watch out for Sylla. She will try to control us. Barricade your mind, like I showed you, okay?"

The young woman's hand covered Ben's. Her lips met her lover's mouth and, for a few seconds, his warmth gave her all the courage she needed. Her love for him was so strong. Through the bond, he then repeated what he had already confessed to her before they landed here: that she was his universe and that he would stay at her side until death, whatever happened.

"Don't worry... Let's go," the young woman murmured, clenching her teeth and grabbing Anakin's lightsaber hanging from her belt.

OooooO

"Two other _TIEs_ are headed your way!" Poe yelled.

The rebel freighters had contacted the _Holdo_, announcing that they were preparing to jump to light speed in order to flee the combat zone. Alas, enemy ships had spotted them. Resistance transports had therefore been added to the First Order armada's target list. The shields were holding for now, but Dameron and Admiral Dupp Zar knew very well that the fight was already lost. There weren't enough allied starfighters left.

Lando's voice then echoed in the comlink.

"Copy that! Can someone get rid of them to give us a little more time?"

The bombers were cornered, the _Wings_ completely overwhelmed, and the other ships resisted as best they could ... What could Poe say except that the situation was desperate, that they were all going to die and that the First Order would finally eradicate the Resistance?

Dameron could easily imagine the satisfied face of Hux and he suddenly wanted to vomit.

It was not fair. The First Order could not win. Not after all that the Rebellion had endured, sacrificed ...

"We'll do our best, Lando …" was all that the pilot found to answer before lowering his head and placing his clenched fists on the console in front of him.

BB-8, at his feet, was weirdly silent. The little droid understood, just like him, that the moment was critical.

"Shields at 15%."

Kaydel dropped the information from the lower deck. They were 30% a minute earlier.

"Red Leader, go help Calrissian's freighter!" Admiral Dupp Zar ordered Snap Wexley.

Then he addressed the rest of his crew on the bridge.

"Recharge the gun batteries, and bring us closer to the _Finalizer_! I want all our firepower directed against this destroyer!"

The rebel officer finally turned his head towards Dameron, and the two men exchanged a knowing look. If they were to die today, it might as well be done with panache.

But suddenly, something in the middle of the battlefield caught the pilot's attention. An unidentified starfighter had just appeared in the fray and started shooting one of the First Order _TIEs_ which was harassing their _MC80_ cruiser.

Poe almost went to stick his nose against the _Holdo_ observation bay to be sure that his eyes did not betray him.

"Look!" he exclaimed.

The vessel was now making a perfect U-turn to return to the charge on one of the enemy battleships. The threadlike craft with the silver cabin sported an emblem in the shape of a blue fan on a yellow background on one of its two forward-facing wings.

Poe thought he must be dreaming.

It was impossible.

"It's a Miy'til starfighter," he stammered, while the members of the _Starfortress_ crew stared incredulously at the spectacle taking place before them.

Thirty identical ships emerged in turn from hyperspace in close formation, followed by three _Nova Class_ cruisers and a dozen heavy bombers, all stamped with the same logo.

Suddenly, a strong, clear male voice echoed across the bridge of the _Holdo_, through the internal communications channel.

"This is Jagged Fel, commander of the Hapan fleet. We come to lend a hand to the Resistance in the name of Queen Tenel Ka Chume Ta' Djo."

Poe's heart started to race. Dupp Zar had come to join him in front of the panoramic bay and also struggled to believe what was happening. Other ships arrived: _MC-40_ cruisers, _Colonna_ frigates ...

"This is Captain Puggem, leader of the armed forces of the Juvex sector."

A squadron of warrior-class gunboats then appeared on the starboard side of the _Holdo_.

"Commander Bilek, representative of the Sullust system."

The messages came one after another, and Poe Dameron shivered. The people of the galaxy had heard his call. It was extraordinary, a miracle. The spark was still there. And the little flame of hope was about to turn into a blaze.

OooooO

Armitage Hux had definitely lost his smile. It was actually the first time he was part of a battle of such magnitude. The war machine that was the First Order had always crushed its opponents in a radical way thanks to the incredible firepower at its disposal.

The situation had just changed. Whole squadrons of ships appearing seemingly from nowhere had suddenly joined the rebels, thereby restoring the balance of power involved.

The redhead felt that all eyes were on him now. Everyone was waiting for orders. He absolutely had to react by showing them that he was worthy of being the new Supreme Leader.

"Contact our destroyers deployed in other systems. They must come back here without delay!" he barked without really succeeding in hiding his nervousness. "And I want our entire fleet of _TIEs_ in the combat zone."

The crew immediately got busy while Colonel Palkott remained puzzled alongside his superior.

"The Hapan fleet… It's a joke! I thought that the Consortium never took part in the affairs of the galaxy. Even the First Order has never been able to …"

"Enough Palkott!" Hux slammed his fist on the communications console. The operator, who had just missed getting his fingers crushed, jumped. "And you! How much longer will I have to wait before I have Captain Peavey online?"

OoooooO

Ben and Rey strode along the hall lined with alcoves and columns. The royal office was at the end of the gallery, and they saw in the distance that the door was ajar.

Suddenly, from the side bays, a dozen hidden stormtroopers began to shoot at them.

Ben twirled his saber to deflect the fire from their blaster rifles while Rey took cover behind a pillar. She glanced cautiously at the soldiers and, with a wave of her hand, she sent the man who seemed to be at the head of the squad flying into his comrades behind. Then, when the way was clear, she went out with Ben to charge the remaining infantrymen, who were no match for the two Force users. Their adversaries all over the ground, they were finally able to reach the door.

Ben violently pushed open the gigantic double doors and, with Rey on his heels, walked cautiously to the middle of the room, his crackling lightsaber in hand.

Elias and Sylla were standing in front of the magnificent white marble desk with their backs turned to them. Their hands were stretched out towards a small pyramidal object placed on the surface in front of them.

Ben's features darkened. Where had this Sith holocron come from? How did Elias get it? Was it Snoke who gave it to him?

A scarlet glow was escaping from the four sides of the artifact, which were all open. The object then began to levitate in the air before coming to rest on top of a cylinder with glass sides about fifty centimeters high. In its center was a strange red compound veined with black. A series of symbols started to flash on the tube - a countdown of some sort had begun.

Ben had seen enough. He raised his hand, palm open in the direction of his former disciples. But Elias turned suddenly and did the same, and the two waves of energy collided. Seeing this, Sylla took a small metallic disc out of one of her pockets and pressed it. She threw it in the direction of the bomb and quickly pulled away.

An immense spherical protective field was deployed, encompassing the office and the throne. The two men then put an end to their Force duel, and everyone stared at each other without moving.

The time had come to settle accounts.

Sylla could not take her eyes off the one she had dreamed of facing for months: the famous Rey. So this was she who had defeated four Praetorian guards, and whom Kylo had become infatuated with?

The lady knight was rather disappointed. This girl was obviously dying of fear. Her face was so pale, she was sweating and breathing hard.

_Pathetic._

The bitterness in Sylla's heart turned to disgust.

_She would be so happy to make this stuck-up bitch suffer before killing her…_

OooooO

Sheltered by the large sculptures of Naboo philosophers framing the central alley, the rebels continued to unload their weapons on the stormtroopers preventing them from reaching the door. One of Ferr Coxx's Gungan soldiers had been fatally injured, and Leia was concentrating all her energy on aiming at her targets while avoiding the deadly fire that grazed the top of her head. An infantryman in white armor fell, then a second. As the Resistance fighters pressed their advantage and began to advance, the troopers were forced to retreat, their squad leader yelling at them to fall back into the palace. Just before the doors closed, Chewie sent a crossbow shot flying through the gap. An explosion sounded, and thick smoke soon escaped from the opening.

"Forward!" Leia cried, rushing down the stairs with her blaster in hand.

OoooooO

"You've lost your mind, Elias," Ben spat.

But against all odds, the tall blond knight began to smile.

"Kylo, Kylo, Kylo… You are definitely full of surprises. I never thought I would find you alongside the Resistance!" His tone was cynical and full of venom. "You've been with them all this time? Unbelievable! So your precious Mother agreed to take you back despite everything you did to her?"

Elias was provoking him intentionally. He wanted to gain time to prevent them from reaching the bomb.

Ben tightened his grip on the hilt of his weapon. He shouldn't play into his game. He needed information about this device in order to know if there was a way to stop it.

"Is it true? Are you planning to blow up the whole Chommel system?" he asked.

"Indeed."

"So what are you still doing here?"

Elias' smile faded a little.

"Well you see, I must admit that, just like you, I underestimated Armitage Hux. He played the game well and managed to take over as head of the First Order."

"What?" Ben couldn't hide his surprise.

"And you were right. Yehnu definitely did not like learning that I killed Jor."

The nervous tic under Ben's left eye reappeared.

"You eliminated him too," he breathed. "I felt his aura merge with the Force."

"He fought valiantly. But he had no chance against me."

"But then you had to flee, just like I did. I bet Hux was quick to proclaim himself Supreme Leader in your place."

"He will pay. You're all going to pay," Elias retorted.

"So you want to take revenge by blowing everything up? And you, are you ready to die with him?" Ben asked, this time to Sylla. He had his answer when the Amazon glared back at him with pure hate. "You don't have to do this. Stop the bomb," he continued, turning his attention back to the tall blond.

Cold determination was written all over Elias's face, and Ben understood that his words were useless.

Rey has remained silent during the exchange. Ben felt that something was definitely wrong. Her eyes were focused on the bomb, and more specifically on the holocron. She seemed deeply disturbed, as if hypnotized by the object.

"Both of you can try to stop everything. But you will not succeed. This force field is impenetrable. Everything will be finished in twenty minutes, while the holocron charges and activates the bomb."

Ben glanced at the cylinder. "There's a red crystal inside, like those in my saber."

The Sith then grabbed his own weapon from his belt and ignited it. When the scarlet blade appeared, Ben's reaction was the same as Yehnu's a few hours earlier on board the _Finalizer_: a mixture of surprise and fascination.

"These famous red crystals, Kylo, it was me who went to look for them on Malachor. Me!" he yelled, now unable to quell his resentment anymore. "And that old fool of Snoke just offered you the part to build that!" With a disdainful gesture of the chin, the knight pointed to Ben's blade. "But as you can see, I was able to recover a few pieces," he added, leveling his own lightsaber. "And the rest was used to make what will end your miserable little lives. The alloy we have successfully created will produce the most devastating explosion the galaxy has ever known. You know, like I do, the history of the temple of Malachor. Well then, this will be worse …"

"Where did this holocron come from?"

"It was the one which controlled the super-weapon that ravaged the planet in ancient times. Snoke had it, and I took it when he died. How ironic is that? When we know that before it belonged to our mentor, this object slept safe and sound in one of the secret hideouts of the great Dark Sidious…"

Ben couldn't help but turn his head towards Rey. An expression of panic had just passed over the young woman's face. He had noticed it, but Elias, who continued to do his little number, had not.

"Only two followers of the Dark Side have the power to switch it off," Elias continued. "And unless Luke's protege here decides to join the Dark Side, our destiny is sealed."

"You will not win."

Rey had finally decided to speak. Her voice was firm, determined. The air in the room began to vibrate and the bond opened. Ben suddenly felt a burst of raw anger fill the space around him, anger which had driven the panic away. When he looked into her eyes, he found that intense, deep glow that had destabilized him on Takodana and then on _Starkiller_, the echo of an untamed and incredible power which brooded under her beautiful and youthful features. Exceptional power, perhaps even surpassing his own.

Ben nodded.

Both were ready.

Rey's words echoed in his mind.

"May the force be with you."

Her lightsaber raised, she charged towards the female Knight while he, in turn, rushed towards the black figure of Elias.

OoooooO

The rebels had reached the gallery. Just five or six stormtroopers remained near the door to the throne room. One of them was tampering with the control panel, presumably to lock access. But suddenly, footsteps clattering on the marble floor were heard behind them.

_Kriff ... Obviously, the enemy had called for reinforcements._

Another squad had emerged at the end of the gallery and the rebels found themselves surrounded. The Gungans deployed their portable shields to protect everyone. Rose had stayed behind one of the columns. One of the Naboo Resistance fighters collapsed at her feet, hit by a blaster shot. She herself seemed to have a problem with her weapon, and a pair of troopers, seeing that she was no longer firing, had targeted her. Stone shards flew all around her and Finn quickly realized that she was in trouble.

"I have to get over there!" he yelled at Ferr Cox, grabbing one of the blue bracelets hanging from his belt.

The young man wrapped it around his wrist and a disk of energy materialized in front of him.

"Finn, no!" Leia shouted, but her voice was covered up by the noise of the lasers.

The young man did not listen to her. Shooting with the blaster in his right hand and holding his shield with the left, he rushed forward. The soldiers of the First Order hastened to target him. The impacts were violent, but the Gungan protection system held firm.

Finn had covered almost half the distance to Rose when a hand grabbed his leg. He looked down to see one of the enemy soldiers who had fallen a few minutes earlier trying to stop him. Surprised, he shifted his shield slightly, and that was all it took for one of the stormtrooper's shots to hit him hard in the chest.

The young man collapsed full length in the middle of the gallery while Rose uttered a cry of horror.

OoooooO

Rey was fighting against Sylla.

Ben was facing Elias.

The two pairs of combatants were exchanging attacks on both sides of the room.

The scavenger was doing her best to ward off the blows from the Amazon. Ben hadn't lied, his former disciple was really strong. Yet Rey did not hold back.

She threw herself forward, but Sylla countered her without difficulty. Their blades crossed right in front of their faces, and the female Knight's dark eyes bore mercilessly into Rey's.

"You're just a vermin. You are too weak."

Then the Sith warrior then unleashed a flurry of forehand blows, which Rey dodged as best she could. Sylla struck hard but also tried to get inside her head, and the scavenger had to make a colossal effort to keep her mind impenetrable.

_**Strike to kill. Have no mercy.**_

The voice whispered again in her ear.

_**Release your power, release the Darkness sleeping inside you.**_

Rey felt like her brain was about to explode. Everything was confused. She was panting. Her arms and legs were on fire. Adrenaline mixed with fatigue made little white dots flutter before her eyes, and she felt that she was losing ground. She then understood that if Ben had truly wanted to kill her on _Starkiller_, he would have done it. Sylla was right. She couldn't compete with the years of training that the Knights of Ren had received under the aegis of Luke, then Snoke.

Suddenly Sylla extended her hand in her direction and she flew back, landing on her back on the floor. At the last second, she managed to roll sideways when the yellow blade of the Amazon hit the ground.

_**Get up. Tap into the power of the Dark Side.**_

She was up again in a fraction of a second and regained her position.

"You really thought you could measure up to us? You are nothing …"

Rey's fingers then tightened on the hilt of her lightsaber. She tried to clear her mind and chase Sylla's words away.

It was not true. She was someone. She had friends, she loved Ben and was loved in return. And although she was still struggling to accept it, she was the descendant of one of the greatest Force users the galaxy had ever known. The Force had chosen her too, and she intended to do everything in her power to escape this evil legacy and make the Light triumph.

In the back of the room, the twin blades also collided relentlessly with incredible violence.

"Snoke always considered you the strongest. We will see today if he was right," Elias hissed.

Ben did not answer as he rushed at him again. His saber came down in a large arc which passed a few millimeters from the blond giant's face. The latter replied with a great blow on the right, but Ben dodged in turn by leaping back. The two were combining their mastery of the combat techniques they had been taught with the use of the Force. Their agility and power were equivalent. But the darkness emanating from Elias overrode everything else. Years of frustration, resentment, and jealousy were pouring out now, like an irrepressible flood, in each of his attacks. He managed to land a blow to Ben's thigh, and Ben responded with a stifled groan. He reeled back a few steps, staggering a little, his sword raised in front of him. But Elias redoubled his effort, and their buzzing blades crossed once more. Ben diverted his opponent's weapon from a two-handed parade and took the opportunity to kick him violently right in the nose. Elias was thrown back under the impact. Blood spilled from his nostrils and he had to retreat for a moment to regain consciousness.

Ben brought his hand to his wound to find that the gash, while painful, was superficial. At the other end of the room, the two women were still fighting, and Ben moved his feet to balance his weight on his valid leg. He had to finish this quickly so he could go help Rey.

Elias wiped the red trail over his mouth with his sleeve. The Sith did not intend to let him win so easily. Ben realized that if he wanted to beat his former disciple, he would have to call on the full might of the Dark Side, but also perhaps on the part of Light buried deep inside him.

OooooO

They had finally succeeded in getting rid of all the soldiers who separated them from the door to the royal office. But the enemy had succeeded in jamming the opening mechanism, and stormtroopers were continuing to fire from the entrance to the palace. Chewie had brought Finn back near the columns, and Leia was crouching beside him, checking to see whether he still had a pulse. His breathing was weak, but he was still alive. On the other side of the gallery, Rose, her face bathed in tears, was using a blaster rifle that the Wookiee had tossed over to her to pour out her rage on the last remaining soldiers.

The general stood up, her face serious and determined. She had to do something. She had to enter the throne room.

But while the rebels were still fighting back in front of her, she didn't see the stormtrooper who had crawled behind them and grabbed a blaster.

When she turned around, moved by one of those warning signals that only the Force was able to send her, she had just enough time to see the man raise his arm and point his gun at her.

OoooooO

Rey was struggling to breathe. The strands of hair that had escaped from her bun stuck to her cheeks, and the salt from her perspiration stung her lips. Just as she did on _Starkiller_ and the _Supremacy_, she was compensating for her inexperience by throwing herself headlong into the battle and trying to feel the perpetual flow of Force all around her.

Sylla retreated for a moment to catch her breath too, and Rey risked another look in the direction of the two men fighting further up the big platform. She saw Ben wrap his crackling blade around Elias's with a clever gesture of the wrist and cut sharply into his shoulder. The Sith let out a howl of rage.

At the same time, Sylla grabbed Rey's forearm and hit her with an uppercut to the jaw. The young woman felt her bones creak. The Amazon immediately followed with a violent kick in the abdomen, and she was propelled back several meters. The pain in her ribs took her breath away and she fell to her knees on the floor.

OooooO

Against all expectations, an arc of blue lightning flashed from behind the infantryman, making him waver and then collapse face down on the ground. The metal body of R2-D2 was then revealed, his electric prod deployed above his head.

"R2! By the Creator, you're here!" Leia exclaimed.

"Bipdupdbipdupdup!"

The general had lost count of the number of times the little robot had saved them. In any case, satisfied with having been able to intervene in time, he urged Leia to follow him now to the door.

The rebels and Chewie's crossbow shots had mostly hit their marks, and there were only a few attackers left.

Leia tore off the cover of the control box and the droid unfolded his retractable arm to thrust it into the heart of the opening circuit.

OooooO

Her lightsaber had been switched off, and Sylla was striding towards her. If she didn't react, she was dead. So Rey threw her weapon to the left, like a boomerang.

Sylla did not understand the maneuver. She sneered, believing that the scavenger had simply given up.

But Rey closed her eyes. She had to trust the Force, to accept that she was its instrument.

The foreign voice in her head had momentarily shut up. The Light only was now shining behind her eyelids. She extended her senses and came into contact with the energy of the crystals nestled in the heart of Luke's lightsaber. In the air, it ignited again.

Sylla crossed the last few meters that separated her from Rey and raised her weapon, screaming.

"You are dead!"

But when the yellow blade lowered to lacerate the scavenger's shoulder and collarbone, Luke's saber came back from behind and its blue beam pierced right through the thorax of the female Knight.

OoooooO

Leia was waiting impatiently for the little droid to finish hacking the control panel. His articulated arm was gyrating left and right and he was punctuating its movements with electronic noises. Suddenly a whole line of lights turned green, signaling that the door was unlocked. Leia immediately smashed her hand down upon the button to open the door.

OooooO

On the other side of the room, Ben felt a thread of fire shear his chest. When he looked up, the vision of Rey collapsing on the floor paralyzed him completely.

Elias took advantage of it.

He waved his hand, and Ben crashed back against one of the pillars behind him. The impact took his breath away, causing him to almost pass out.

At the same time, the door of the room opened wide and a small woman in a brown cardigan armed with a blaster tumbled inside. Unfortunately she did not have time to realize what was going on. Elias turned to her and sent Leia's blaster flying into the air. Then the general's body rose and flew into a stone wall before falling, still and silent, onto the icy ground.

"No!" Ben let out a heartbreaking cry.

Time had just stopped. His heart froze. His worst fears were coming to life.

_Rey ... His mother ..._

Elias came back and punched him, making his cheekbone explode in pain. The taste of blood invaded his mouth and he went down to one knee. He tried to get up straight away, but was struck by a vicious kick. He then ended up face down on the ground with Elias' blade a few centimeters from his swollen face.

Blaster shots and shouts echoed from the gallery and Ben suddenly felt like he was breathing glass dust. The Force seemed to have abandoned him.

The Sith glanced quickly over his shoulder. Sylla was dead. The scavenger was lying, unconscious, on the floor and the bomb's countdown had not stopped decreasing.

"If I remember correctly, we've already found ourselves in this situation, not so long ago," Elias laughed, checking once again the state of his nose. "In ten minutes, we're all going to be blown up. I would have continued to make you suffer, but I think I prefer to kill you now and prove that Snoke was wrong, that you were not the stronger one. I am ready to die. And you, are you?"

Elias' blade slid only a few millimeters from Ben's neck.

But suddenly a clear, stern voice rose behind the Knight:

"Elias Ren!"

The Sith turned and his massive figure was shaken with a jolt.

From the ground, Ben looked up at him and didn't understand right away. Then he saw the blond giant's head slowly detach from his shoulders and fall to the side.

When his body collapsed too, Ben discovered who had just saved his life.

Leia was standing in front of him.

A streak of blood was smearing her forehead. She had trembling lips, eyes shining with tears, and her face illuminated by the azure light of her father Anakin Skywalker's sword.

OoooooO


	27. CHAPTER 26

**CHAPTER 26**

"_Mom, I don't want to go to the Jedi temple. I want to stay here with you and dad."_

"_I know, Ben. I would like to keep you with us too. But you will be fine there. You're going to learn a lot from Luke. And when you're ready, you will have a magnificent lightsaber, like your uncle's."_

She'd cried so much that day, and had felt so guilty afterwards. But today was different. There was still water in her eyes, but the pain had given way to joy and relief, but also apprehension.

She was standing over her son, Elias' body stretched out at her feet, and she watched Ben get up slowly with a stunned look and parted lips. She let the lightsaber fall to the ground and, just before her legs gave way, her son grabbed her arm to support her.

It was the first physical contact they'd had in twenty years. Ben's huge fingers clasped hers tightly. She suppressed a grimace. Her wrist must have been sprained, maybe even broken. But she didn't care.

All she wanted, right now, was to feel the warmth of her boy's palm against her skin…and for time to stop.

Now, there was no more mask to prevent her from seeing the man he had become.

A long scar streaked across his right cheek. A hematoma blued at the corner of his jaw and his cheekbone was split. But the moles she used to cherish when he was a child still dotted his face. He had the same mouth as his father's. And he had her eyes.

He was so broad, so tall, so beautiful ...

"You're hurt," he breathed.

She had already heard him speak through the Resistance's communications channel, but he had never addressed her directly. She detected panic in his words and her heart skipped a beat. She had only bruises and a slight head wound, unlike Rey who was still unconscious a few meters away.

"It's nothing. You have to go see to her. Quickly," she replied, overcome with emotion.

Ben released her hand and rushed over to Rey. At the same time Chewie, Ferr Cox, and the rest of the rebels burst into the room. When the Wookiee saw Leia wobbling in the back of the hall while her son was kneeling near Rey's seemingly lifeless body, he let out a raging cry and aimed his crossbow at the former Supreme Leader.

"No, Chewie!" the general yelled, leaning on the column behind her.

The hairy giant hesitated, then groaned before reluctantly lowering his gun. Leia knew very well what the Wookiee was thinking. Ben was her son, and he had left the First Order, but that did not change the fact that he had killed Han.

One of the rebels ran to her.

"General, are you all right?"

"The stormtroopers…" she evaded.

"All the soldiers were neutralized."

"And Finn?"

"Rose is with him. He is seriously injured."

Ben hadn't even realized that the Resistance fighters had joined them, so focused was he on Rey. Her flesh was burned from the top of her shoulder to the hollow between her breasts, but she was breathing. She was alive, and that was all that mattered. As her eyelids fluttered, Ben stroked her hair before returning his attention to the still-active shield. A few rebels stepped forward and fired blasters at the energy field. It was a waste of time, as their shots were all absorbed by the luminescent barrier. Through the blue veil, Leia could see the countdown symbols scrolling down inexorably. A few years earlier, under the supervision of Luke, she had learned the basics of the Sith language, and she saw with horror that there were only a few minutes left before the explosion.

Her son then moved away from Rey to approach the desk.

Leia saw him raise his arm towards the sphere and take a deep breath. She felt the vibration all around her and the silent call from Ben invoking the power of the Force. He was trying to channel the intangible flow to redirect it to the shield. He wanted the barrier to give up. It was indeed their only chance, since weapons were ineffective.

"Bring me to his side," she asked the man who was supporting her.

"General, you are too weak…"

The rebel was right. She could barely stand.

For a short time, the energy field flickered and lost intensity. Ben's features were distorted by the colossal effort he was making. Sweat ran down his temples, and the veins in his neck seemed ready to explode. He was struggling with all his might—but Leia felt him weaken. The shield was resisting. Her son couldn't do it alone. When the countdown was complete, the bomb would wipe the entire system off the galaxy map.

Then a calm, determined, and familiar voice rose from the depths of the Force.

_"Hold on, Ben."_

Leia's entire body shivered when she witnessed, dumbfounded, the appearance of her brother's ghost alongside her son.

Skywalker put his hand on Ben's shoulder and suddenly, the Force was unleashed all around the two men.

The rebels, who did not quite understand what was going on, instinctively backed away.

A few meters away, Rey, who had also seen Luke, made a painful attempt to get up.

Every muscle in Ben's body was igniting, and he let out a heartbreaking rattle. He sensed his uncle combine his power with his and realized that he no longer harbored any bitterness or hatred towards him. His anger, his desire for revenge were gone.

Then the defining moment came. The lead case buried deep in his chest cracked open, and a new energy spread in his veins and throughout all his nerve fibers. He let the Light diffuse in each part of his being and slowly combine with the Darkness. The two opposing forces seemed to savor their unexpected reunion for a moment before a burst of raw power surged down his arm and a stream of dazzling lightning flashed out of his fingertips to strike the energy field.

A fault line appeared on the surface of the sphere, and then everything happened quickly. Rey's slim figure entered his field of view. Without him being able to do anything, the young woman rushed into the breach to find herself finally facing the desk.

Seeing her cross through in his place disconcerted Ben and he collapsed, out of breath, at the foot of the shield that had once again become impassable. Luke's ghost vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, and Ben shouted:

"Rey! Switch off the shield!"

Sylla's small metal disc was still placed on the desk near the bomb. The scavenger reached out to grab the object, but against all odds, Ben saw her pause.

"Rey!" he yelled again.

But the young woman was paralyzed. The voice in her head had returned. Petrifying. Deafening. She felt like the fire from her wound was now spreading throughout her arm, and there was no way she could focus on anything other than that burning sensation and the words echoing in her mind. Her eyes had drifted towards the holocron. Locked in the sphere, she was now suffering the full force of the dark and terrifying power emanating from the artifact. Ben was screaming something, but nothing was piercing the fog enveloping her brain except the voice…

"_**My child ... my flesh and my blood …"**_

Darkness wanted to enter her again and, more than ever, she felt drawn to this promise of greatness. A huge shadow draped in a large hooded tunic had just taken shape before her closed eyelids.

She immediately knew who the man was. It was him. It was Palpatine.

"_**The power of the Dark Side is limitless. "**_

The attraction was unbearable. Beyond words, she felt it, this infinite power. She had access to it. It was there buried deep inside, her fascinating and terrifying heritage. She just had to let go and she could stop the bomb. She knew she would be able to control the holocron alone, because the emperor had imbued the object with his power and because her great-grandfather's blood was flowing in her veins. That if she embraced the Dark Side, she would become more powerful than any creature living in this galaxy. More powerful than all the Jedi put together, more powerful than Snoke had ever been… More powerful than Sidious himself.

She could no longer ignore the fury which brooded in the depths of her soul, her wasted childhood on Jakku, this father who had erased her memory, this mother who had not seen fit to offer her all her love. So she let her anger come out, along with the sadness and the darkness that she had repressed for so long. She had the right to blame them all, the right to want to be strong. But instead of being consumed by all this hatred, the Light inside her merged with the Dark and Rey was overwhelmed by an immense feeling of fullness, of accomplishment ...

A balance.

Ben had retrieved Elias' lightsaber and was now trying to split the shield with the sheer force of his despair.

Leia had started to shout too, trying to get a reaction out of Rey. There were only twenty seconds left on the cylinder countdown.

But Rey saw none of this. Eyes closed and face transfigured, she brought her hand to the holocron.

A sneer echoed near her ear, and the red glow in the center of the artifact pulsed like a beating heart.

Just as her fingers came into contact with the cold metal, Rey opened her eyes, her face adorned with a surreal glow.

"Stop," she ordered in a breath.

Then the facets of the holocron closed and the countdown stopped.

OooooO

The two armies were clashing in orbit around the planet. The destroyers called by Hux had finally arrived from the far reaches of the galaxy where they were stationed, and enemy ships were now shooting at each other at point-blank range. Three rebel cruisers in flames ended their suicidal course against battleships of the First Order. The Hapan squadrons prevented the star fortresses from using their surface guns, and the bombers piloted by the Sullustans unloaded their last shells before trying to escape disintegration under heavy fire from First Order _TIE_s. Explosions rocked the ships, and the groung began to vibrate under the boots of the all-new Supreme Leader.

"Communications established with the _Finalizer_, Sir," the operator announced

"Finally…" the redhead spat, raising his voice to cover the noise of the turbolasers. "Peavey, do you hear me?!"

"General Hux, this is Captain Bash. I took command of the ship. Captain Peavey had a little problem with the Supr… I mean with Elias Ren and …"

"Where is he?" Armitage cut him off bluntly.

"The captain is in the infirmary for …"

"I don't care about Peavey! Elias Ren, where is he?" Hux shouted, losing patience. "Have you managed to neutralize him?"

Tension on the _Fellfire's _bridge was at its height. The soldiers were fidgeting in all directions in the pit and Palkott was barking orders, sweating profusely.

"General, I'm afraid he escaped from the _Finalizer_," Bash announced. "We found his Rattataki partner dead in one of the secondary hangars. Elias must have stowed away on one of the troop transports and returned to Naboo. He could not have done otherwise since we immediately took over all the other starfighter hangars."

Hux's eyes widened.

"He's returned to Naboo?"

"Yes, and one of our squadron leaders on-site contacted us a few minutes ago. Elias Ren was seen entering the royal palace, probably to retrieve the so-called Sylla who had been sent there with a mysterious suitcase. However, the child who came with him has remained on board. We put him in a cell."

Hux was suddenly afraid to understand and his blood froze in his veins.

"Wait a minute…What was in this suitcase? Have you searched his quarters? Did you find a small pyramid-shaped object? Have you questioned the child?"

The questions had flown like a torpedo salvo, and Captain Bash replied in the negative to each of them. The general therefore had confirmation that his fears were justified. Elias Ren had killed Yehnu and had managed to flee to Naboo to find Sylla. The holocron was still in his possession. Before Hux had revealed to everyone that the knight was an impostor, Elias had announced the annihilation of the Chommel system, so this suitcase had to contain ...

_Kriff… So he would never be done with these damned Sith!_

Captain Bash's quavering voice cut short his speculation by announcing another piece of news.

"Leia Organa and a group of rebels also managed to enter the palace. And before them, two resistance fighters with lightsabers attacked the guards. A tall man with a scarred face and a young woman. Do you think it could be …"

Armitage Hux was no longer listening to him. His brain was boiling. He managed, however, to catch snippets of the conversation that was going on between Palkott and his NCOs. "We are regaining the advantage. The rebel fleet is suffering heavy losses. Our firepower is greater. "

"General?" Bash was getting impatient and was awaiting orders.

The redhead completely ignored his subordinate and turned to Sergeant Elkarr, who was sitting in front of his screen.

"Contact the _Harbinger_."

The operator did so and tapped on his keyboard before announcing that the captain of the battleship was online.

"This is General Hux. Position yourself above the capital. I want you to raze Theed."

"At your command, General," Captain Elmo replied.

A smile then spread over Armitage's face. Despite all their efforts and the intervention of their allies, the Resistance had no chance. Kylo Ren, what was left of his knights, his mother, and this girl from Jakku would soon be annihilated, and the "Fusion project" would die with Elias and Sylla.

Nothing would get in his way now. All of his wildest dreams were about to come true.

OooooO

The holocron was off and Rey pressed the shield switch to deactivate it. Ben let go of Elias' saber and rushed towards her. He wrapped her in his arms before she fell to the floor, and while trying to catch his breath, he whispered in her ear.

"You did it, Rey. You did it. It's over."

Then he kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her mouth, and she was gently pulled from her torpor.

The rebels were still in shock. Stunned by what had just happened, they were staring dazedly at them.

Chewie let out a groan. Yes, the fight was far from over. However, General Organa could not take her eyes off these two beautiful young people so tenderly entwined. Deep down, she had long understood that the bond that united them could not be a coincidence. She was not mistaken, and she smiled in silence.

Then, as if to remind them all of reality, the comlink attached to her wrist started to vibrate and flash. The device was set up to receive messages from the _Holdo_.

"This is Leia Organa, we are in the palace," she responded in the transmitter.

Everyone turned their heads towards her.

"This is Dameron."

"Poe! Glad to hear your voice! We did it! The bomb is deactivated!"

"Leia, you have to be quick." Poe's panicked tone made the general's enthusiasm fall like a blow. "You must leave Naboo immediately. One of their battleships is positioning itself just above the region where you are. The _Holdo_'s sensors have detected that their ventral guns are loading. They're going to fire on Theed!"

"No, no, no, not now!" the princess cried. "Please, Dameron, try to buy us some time!"

"Leia, they heard our call. Dozens of ships have come from all over the galaxy to help us. But the First Order Armada has also grown stronger, and we're losing a lot of men and ships. We will do our best to stop them and give you time to get out of here."

"Poe, I…" Leia's words were interrupted by a crackling noise and the communication was cut off.

For a few seconds, no one dared to make the slightest movement. Yet time was running out. It was Ben who broke the stillness by helping Rey down the steps of the platform. Then he left her in Chewie's care before going back to the desk. On the way, he picked up his and Elias' lightsabers from the ground.

"Go, we must recover all our wounded people and try to return to the _Millennium Falcon_. This is our only chance," Leia decreed.

Rey then realized that Finn and Rose were not there. She was about to ask Leia when she saw Ben grab the bomb.

The countdown was frozen with only ten seconds left. He quickly examined it, then unscrewed the top of the tube to access the stone's containment chamber. He removed the piece of alloy from its support and reduced it to crumbs in his palm with the Force. Then he dismantled the body of Elias' saber, retrieved one of the red crystals and introduced it in place of the amalgam in the center of the device. Once the top was on again, he placed the bomb under his arm, grabbed the holocron and returned to where Chewie, Rey and his mother were.

He faced the young woman once again, placed the artifact in her hand, and took two seconds to caress her cheek tenderly. The gesture made Rey shiver, and he sighed a "I'll be faster alone" before walking towards the exit.

"Wait, what are you planning to do with that bomb? And what do you want me to do with this?" she exclaimed, leaving Chewie's arms and running after him.

As they exited the royal office, Ben and Rey froze, horrified, when they saw that Rose was in tears, sitting in the middle of the gallery. Finn, unconscious, had his head resting on her knees, and she was pressing his chest with her tiny hand to contain the bleeding.

"Finn…" Rey's heart stopped beating. In two strides she found herself alongside the technician.

All the rebels had followed, and Leia grabbed her son's arm. "Ben, where are you rushing off to like this?"

"We won't all get to the _Falcon_ in time," he answered, watching Rey inspect Finn's injury. Ben knew very well that the wounded and especially the young man were not transportable on the speeders that the rebels had used to come to the palace. "I will take the landspeeder that we left in the yard to get back to the freighter and try to reach the _Harbinger_."

"No." Leia shook her head, fingers tightening on her son's wrist. The tone of her voice was adamant and she had stopped breathing. But Ben had already made up his mind. He sensed that Rey was now staring at him too, so he looked away from his mother's desperate face to address her this time:

"I replaced the alloy with the red crystal from Malachor. The explosion should be less powerful than the one Elias had planned. With luck, it could blow up the entire First Order fleet."

"You won't have time to go far enough. The _Falcon_ risks being destroyed at the same time as Hux's destroyers. Please Ben, you can't do this."

Now it was the love of his life who was begging him. But they had no choice.

"When I'm close enough, you will reactivate the holocron. I'll tell you, through the bond."

"No, wait ... I'm coming with you." But he was already running towards the exit. Holding tightly to Finn's hand, she shouted his name one last time before seeing him disappear in the blinding light of the forecourt.

OooooO

Ready to start the landspeeder, Ben froze when he saw Chewbacca jump in the passenger seat. The latter had roared, looking straight ahead and tapping his fist on the dashboard to signal that there was not a minute to lose. He knew Chewie would never forgive him for what he had done to Han. But Ben also knew that the Wookiee was ready to put the rebels' lives before his own, even if it meant helping his best friend's murderer.

When the _Falcon_'s ramp lowered to let them in, he grabbed the hairy arm of the colossus to hold him back.

"I can do it alone."

Chewie eyed him from atop his seven foot two inches height.

"Dwaaargghhhh drooaugggg," he let out before turning on his heels and disappearing into the passageway of the ship.

"I know you're the best co-pilot in the galaxy," Ben smiled sadly, following in his footsteps.

OooooO

"Aim at the destroyer's ventral cannons!" Admiral Dupp Zar commanded.

"A dozen _TIE_ fighters are covering the ship, it's impossible for us to approach!" Cova Nell retorted from her _X-wing._

Poe let out a sigh of dismay, and at his feet BB-8 gently tilted his small dome-like head.

OooooO

The _Millennium Falcon_ was invisible. Before taking off, Ben had fixed the second cloaking device on the hull, and the Corellian freighter was now zigzagging between metallic debris, torpedoes and laser blasts.

"Excuse me Sir, but how do you intend to cross the destroyer's deflector shield to place the bomb on the ship?" exclaimed C-3PO, who had now realized that he was part of a suicide mission.

"We are not going to cross it, we're going to send the bomb on board one of the rescue pods as close as possible to the _Harbinger_."

"If we don't get disintegrated before that!" the golden droid hissed after Ben turned sharply to the left to avoid a _TIE _fighter who, unable to see them, was flying straight at them.

They were no longer far from the destroyer and could even see the cannons' mouths turning red.

"Chewie, contact the _Holdo_," Ben asked.

The Wookiee opened the channel.

"Dameron, can you hear us?"

"Solo? Were you able to get off Naboo?"

"Chewie and I are aboard the _Falcon_. We will try to neutralize the battleship ready to fire on Naboo."

"What? But where are you? We're not picking you up on any of our sensors, and I don't see you!"

"I don't have time to explain, but everyone has to retreat and make the jump to hyperspace. Get out of here!"

"Is this a joke? Where is Leia, where is Rey?"

"Dameron! You have to trust me! Please! I have a bomb on board."

"But you…"

"Time is running out, Poe! My mother, Rey, Finn and the rest of the rebels are still on Naboo. I know I'm asking a lot of you, I know that I could never erase all the horrors that I did and that I'll never be anything but a monster to you. But please, right now, I'm just asking you to trust me. I'm begging you."

Chewie groaned to support his request while the crimson arm of C-3PO squeezed the armrest of his chair in a death grip in the back of the cockpit. They heard the pilot sigh at the other end of the line before continuing:

"Very well. But they'll chase us, even in hyperspace. Allied ships and half of our aircraft are not equipped with Rose's scramblers."

"If everything goes as planned, they won't have time to do that," Ben replied.

OooooO

Aboard the _Fellfire_, Caporal Cherm had a hard time believing what he was seeing on his screens. "General ! They're running away!"

Hux, hands behind his back and straight like an "i" in front of the observation bay, felt himself overcome by pride and euphoria.

The enemy ships were leaving the battlefield one after the other to disappear into the void of space. They must have finally understood that the First Order was the strongest.

"I want the trackers of the _Finalizer_, the _Ravenous_ and the _Fellfire_ start the analysis of the hyperspace coordinates. We will go after them and destroy every last one of them. But first, I want all ships to witness the destruction of Theed!" the soldier exulted.

OooooO

A series of explosions violently shook the Corellian freighter, and several alarms in the cockpit began to howl. A Sullustean starfighter had just been blown to bits on their port side, and fragments of the ship had struck the rear.

"Kriff!" Ben spat, trying to stabilize the ship, and Chewie got up to go check.

At the same time, a laser shot struck the exhaust ports of the _Falcon_. Then a second.

OooooO

"Captain Elmo, a rebel freighter is heading straight for us."

"Well, I thought they had all run away with their tails between their legs," the officer sneered. "Let our support _TIE_s take care of it."

"That's what they do, Captain."

" long before firing?"

"Thirty seconds, sir."

"Perfect."

OooooO

The cloaking device was down. When Chewie returned to the cockpit, Ben read on his face that it was apparently the least of their worries. The Wookiee informed him that the electrical systems on the right rear flank were damaged, including the pods release mechanism and the hyperdrive.

"No no no!" Ben yelled and he got up in turn, asking Chewbacca to take the controls.

"If I may say a word, Master Ben, I…" but C-3PO saw Leia's son disappear at the bottom of the passageway, and Chewie roared at him that this was not a good moment to complain.

In the hold, the pod containing the bomb was ready to be launched. The control box just needed to be repaired, but they didn't have time for that. An explosion was heard inside the lounge, and Ben went up quickly to see that a fire had started on one of the panels. The ship was rocking in all directions. Chewie was feinting and slaloming in an attempt to escape the _TIE_s' shots. Ben put out the flames and hastened to return to the hold. He absolutely had to find a way to eject this pod.

When he arrived, the door had been closed and the security lock was on.

Through the window, he saw C-3PO carrying the two small thrusters of the emergency space suit on his back. The droid opened the pod and took out the bomb, then he wedged the cylinder against his golden chest and headed towards the manual opening panel. Grabbing the handle, he turned to look at Ben, who was standing completely stunned behind the window.

"What I wanted to tell you in the cockpit, Master Ben, is that since your grandfather made me, I have always done my best to serve your family. I know I'm just a simple protocol droid but for once, I think I can do something good for the galaxy."

The young man and the droid stared at each other for a few more seconds. There was nothing he could say in answer, and Ben's throat and heart tightened in spite of himself.

"Chewie ... You have to pass as close as possible to the _Harbinger_," he asked the Wookiee after pressing the intercom button next to the door. His eyes never left the droid for a single second, and when the _Falcon_ dived forward and the destroyer's turrets were in view past the gangway window, C-3PO nodded and lowered the handle to disappear with the bomb, sucked into the coldness of space.

OoooooO

Rey and Leia were waiting feverishly outside the palace.

Suddenly, the bond opened.

"Ben…" the young woman gasped.

"_Now, Rey._"

The scavenger closed her eyes, and her trembling fingers touched the top of the pyramid. A tear rolled gently down her cheek.

"I love you," she whispered.

"_I know_," Ben replied.

OoooooO

Ten…

Nine…

Eight…

A lightning bolt streaked across the cockpit windshield and Ben, seated once again in the pilot seat, pushed the throttle fully. The _Falcon_ leaped forward and all of the indicator lights started to flash. The cabin creaked as if it were ready to go to shreds.

"Come on, damn it, come on!" he yelled as he and Chewie were pressed into the backs of their seats by the force of their acceleration.

Seven…

Six…

Five…

Standing still on the _Fellfire_'s polished footbridge, the Supreme Leader of the First Order was jubilant. The moment he had always been waiting for had arrived. He, Armitage Hux, was going to finally become the master of the galaxy.

Four…

Three…

Two…

Hanging on the metal ladder of a _Harbinger_ turret, C-3PO had a breathtaking view of the blue and green planet. When he turned off his photoreceptors, the bomb wedged under his red arm, his last thought was for his friend R2-D2 and all the members of the Skywalker family.

One…

The exosphere suddenly ignited without a sound, lighting up the sky of Naboo with a blinding blaze. The breath of the explosion was felt on the surface and the connection with Ben was broken.

Rey, who was still holding the holocron in her hand, collapsed in tears at Leia's feet.

OoooooO


	28. CHAPTER 27

**CHAPTER 27- EPILOGUE**

Three weeks had passed since the Battle of Naboo. It would join the long list of milestones in the history of the galaxy, like the battle of Yavin, or that of Endor, which had led to the victory of the defenders of freedom against tyranny and dictatorship.

Almost the entirety of Hux's fleet had been destroyed. After the explosion, the Allied vessels had returned to the battlefield to find only floating debris and a few survivors in damaged escape pods. Some had managed to flee. But it didn't matter.

The Resistance and its supporters had triumphed. Hearts were now filled with joy and hope, and the inhabitants of the galaxy had celebrated victory as it should be.

The airstrip of Haven was teeming with people. Maintenance teams were busy inspecting the starfighters ready to take off, pilots were discussing the next trips to be made, and groups of refugees were arriving aboard the ships made available by the Galaxy New Alliance.

Arbra had truly become a planet of asylum for all those who had suffered the abuses of the First Order or who had seen their worlds destroyed. Former slaves were now free, stateless people here found land ready to welcome them, and all of them rejoiced at the rout of Hux and his army.

Going down the shuttle ramp, Rey saw Poe waiting for her near the base entrance. When she was finally in front of him, the two rebels stared at each other for a long time without moving.

"He wasn't there, was he?" Poe finally asked.

There was no animosity in his voice, no cynicism. His gaze was even compassionate.

Rey lowered her eyes and tightened her grip on the strap of the bag she was carrying over her shoulder.

"No, he was not there," she sighed.

Poe then took a step towards her and put her hands on her arm. "I'm sorry."

The young woman knew that the pilot was sincere. Ben's contribution to the fall of the First Order had changed many things. And even though most people still thought that what he had done as Kylo Ren was unforgivable, Poe had revised his judgment.

On Naboo, just after the explosion, Rey and Leia had been on their knees on the floor for long minutes, sobbing in each other's arms, thinking that this time they had lost Ben for good.

And then a gleam had shone in the Darkness.

A signal, a pulse…

Rey had felt his signature, tenuous but very present, through the Force. Leia had felt it too. The two women had stopped crying and looked at each other in dismay. Then the bond had opened, and Rey's heart had started to beat again.

"_I'm fine, Rey."_

Ben's deep voice had echoed in her mind, distant but reassuring. Just three words, covered by the rebels' cries of joy all around her, and then there had been silence again in her head.

Back on Arbra, Rey had to wait three days before the _Millennium Falcon_ came back with Chewie alone at the controls. His friends had wanted to know what had happened and the Wookiee had told them what he remembered.

He and Ben had managed to escape the blast. The enemy warships had been disintegrated one after the other behind them while the cargo ship was hurtling away at sublight speed in an attempt to take shelter. Once out of danger, Ben had turned to him, looked him straight in the eye and then ... Everything had gone black. Chewie had woken up in the co-pilot seat, in a small spaceport on Triffis. Solo had disappeared, but on the dejarik table, the Wookiee had found enough money to buy the parts needed to repair the freighter. After the hyperdrive and damaged circuits had been put back into working order, Chewie had returned to base.

Ben had always said he would never come to Arbra. Rey therefore understood why he had acted this way, and so did Leia. The fate of the former Supreme Leader was already a source of heated debate within the Galaxy New Alliance. Where was the real Kylo Ren now? Was he dead? Hidden somewhere? A bounty had been put on his head, but in the end, few people knew that he was actually Ben Solo.

Ben Solo…who had saved Naboo. Who had saved millions of lives… after being a monster for so many years. But no one, except those who were on Naboo that day and Poe Dameron, should be made aware of this fact… Leia had asked them to keep the secret. And they had all promised her to do so.

One of the rebel pilots arrived behind Poe, announcing to him that his transport shuttle was ready to take off and then hastening back to the runway.

"Are you leaving?" Rey asked, a little surprised.

"Yes, I'm going to Coruscant. It's been decided that our first meeting will be held there."

The leaders of the different systems had finally come to an agreement. With the fall of the First Order, the galaxy needed new rules, and there were even plans to create a third Republic.

"So you have become a diplomat, Poe Dameron," the young woman joked.

The pilot then laughed. "It would appear so ... Even if I always feel more comfortable flying an X-wing than being in the middle of a bunch of senior officials and politicians!"

The two rebels laughed together again and then exchanged a last look. A warm look, full of respect and mutual admiration. The quarrels were forgotten.

"Don't worry, Rey, I'm sure he's waiting for you somewhere."

"Thank you Poe," the young woman whispered, hugging him tightly.

OooooO

When she entered the dining hall, everyone turned their head towards her. People still looked at her as if she were exceptional, but that didn't bother her anymore. She even smiled when someone waved at her.

When she saw Finn and Rose talking quietly at the back of the room, she hastened to join them.

"Rey! You came home!" Rose exclaimed, while Rey sat at their table, her face closed.

Rose understood immediately that the news was not good.

"OK, so he was not on Triffis. That was to be expected," Finn started in a bantering tone.

The technician castigated him with a glance before taking Rey's hand in hers.

"You should go to Naboo, maybe he's there with Leia?"

After discovering that Ben was still alive, Rey had waited patiently for him to contact her. She had hoped he would do it quickly, to tell her where he was so she could find him. But he hadn't. So she had decided to look for him, starting with Triffis.

Before she'd left the base, Leia had come to say goodbye and announce her upcoming departure for Naboo. This time, the rebel princess had indeed decided to hand over the reins of leadership to the young generation. Poe and Larma d'Acy had been designated as the new leaders, and the general had warmly congratulated them. Larma had shed a tear as she hugged her friend affectionately, while Poe couldn't help but sniff when the one he admired more than anyone had whispered in his ear "I'm proud of you, Dameron." Then Leia had left, making Rey promise to come see her as soon as she found Ben.

"Do you really think Leia wouldn't have told Rey if he was on Naboo?" Finn retorted.

The brunette frowned and threw her fist into the ex-stormtrooper's shoulder.

"Ouch! Hey! I'm still recovering!" the young man protested, rubbing his arm.

"You've been out of the bacta tank for over a week, Finn! So stop acting like a baby, and let's try to help Rey find Ben!"

"I hate to tell you both this, but I think Ben obviously doesn't want to be found," he replied. "And I can understand that. Here, opinions are divided on what to do with Kylo Ren. Many would love to see him languishing in one of Coruscant's prisons, or even worse. I'm sorry, Rey …"

"And you? Are you ready to forgive Ben Solo?" the scavenger asked, feverish, looking in turn at Finn and Rose.

Rose nodded shyly as Finn lowered his eyes.

They were trying with all their might to forget, to ignore everything that Kylo/Ben had done. And the young woman's throat tightened.

"He did horrible things, Rey, and even if I know that he was under the influence of the Dark side and Snoke, that there are extenuating circumstances and that he changed, you'll have to give us time… But he saved all of us on Naboo, so that's already a point in his favor." The young man finally raised his head and offered his friend a sincere smile. He put his hand on her arm, and the anxiety that had not left Rey for several days subsided a little.

The discussion between the three young people then continued, and Rey learned from Finn that several First Order facilities had been dismantled. Inside the enemy computers, the allies had found a wealth of information concerning the slaves but also the stormtroopers, their families and their native planets. Finn would have the chance to learn more about his past, and he also hoped to be able to help other boys and girls like him who had been forcibly recruited, deprived of childhood, and turned into cannon fodder in a war that was ultimately not theirs. And what should be done with the captured soldiers? Was it possible to open their eyes too, just as he had opened his own that day on Tuanul? Finn wanted to believe it, and Rey really wanted him to succeed.

"What are you going to do now about Ben?" he finally asked the scavenger.

Rey stared at an invisible point in front of her before answering.

"I'll continue searching for him."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Rose proposed with a sincere smile on her face.

Rey squeezed her hand a little tighter.

"Thank you, Rose, but I have to do this alone."

"Will you still come back to see us when you find him, after the two of you have set up house in a small cabin in the woods and had a bunch of children?" Finn's tone was ironic but his eyes were filled with tears. He knew very well what the next departure of his friend meant.

Laughter and discussions were in full swing all around them. Cova Nell and C'ai were teasing each other at the next table, and Kaydel, Jenx, and a dozen other technicians were toasting for the hundredth time to victory, brandishing their coffees. Rey smiled as she watched all these people who'd become dear to her heart. Her eyes were also a little too shiny now.

"To see my family, I will always come back."

OooooO

She had not really missed the iodine-charged air and breezy wind of the island, nor had she missed the drizzle and the fog. Finally arriving at the top of the stone staircase, Rey turned to admire the view once again. The gray and raging sea was sending its roaring waves crashing against the cliff. The steep green slopes of Ahch-To were darkening along with the sky. A storm was brewing.

The sanctuary was a simple stop on her journey. She had promised herself to come back after Luke's death, and now she was standing at the entrance to the temple, with the holocron in one hand and the Jedi books stored in the big bag hanging from her shoulder.

She then advanced inside the mountain. The room was still so dark, light barely filtering in through the opening overlooking the horizon to illuminate the mosaic covered with water. Realizing that she had never taken the time to really examine it, Rey looked down to admire the sitting cross-legged figure on the ground. A black face surrounded by white and a white face surrounded by black. Light and Darkness, inextricable, and which had no reason to be one without the other.

Then the young woman's gaze went to the rock at the end of the promontory. It was there that she had settled for Luke to give her her first lesson. And it was there that the Jedi Master spent his last moments among the living. She wondered if Skywalker could see her from wherever he was, and if he would return one day for her, in his spectral form.

Maybe she could try to call him? Maybe he knew where his nephew was?

No. Not now. She had something important to do first.

A gust of wind rushed into the cave and fluttered the wild locks around her face. She shivered and closed the sides of her coat. Then she advanced towards the cliff and placed the holocron on the flat rock in front of her. The little pyramid was inert and now seemed harmless. The voice had stopped whispering, and Rey was now staring at the object with determination.

A series of lightning flashes streaked across the sky. The sound of thunder made the mountain tremble, and raindrops began to fall on her face and shoulders. Rey raised her arm to the artifact and stared at it without flinching. She felt the invisible energy of the storm over her head go down into her hand, but also the energy of the animals, grass, flowers, and water all around her. She concentrated more on channeling this flow, this essence, and suddenly, a dazzling line sprang down from the layer of clouds above the mountain. The blinding lightning descended straight onto the promontory, pulverizing the object. The blast made the young woman retreat back to the threshold, and when she looked up, in the middle of the stone slab, there were only tiny fragments of durasteel and red crystals that were carried away by the wind to be lost in the ocean.

Rey had decided to spend the night in Luke's little hut since the one she had occupied during her last stay had been destroyed by the Jedi Master.

Skywalker's belongings were still there. The Lanai guardians hadn't touched a thing.

In a small niche carved into the wall were containers closed by leather rectangles. There was also a strange object resembling a compass. Three tunics and an old brown coat had been carefully folded on the small table near the bed. That was all Luke had.

But when Rey went to the bunk to rest a little, she saw something shiny lying on the pillow_—_Han Solo's golden dice. Luke must have taken them in the _Falcon_. Seeing them, her thoughts immediately went to Ben.

_Where was he? What was he doing at the moment?_

She tried to open the bond again. Nothing happened.

So she put the dice back in her bag, lay down under the covers, and fell asleep.

The next morning, she entrusted the Jedi texts to the Lanais. Rey knew that the creatures were going to watch over them as they had always done for centuries. They would find another place to keep them safe. The ancestral tree was nothing more than a gigantic tangle of burnt branches and roots. But Rey felt that life was still there, in the hollow of these branches and roots, in the depths of the earth. Nothing was finished. And who knows, maybe one day a bud would sprout up and a new tree would grow there.

Maybe she would come back to see that with Ben.

Once seated at the controls of the _Falcon_, she retrieved Han's dice from her bag and hung them just above the dashboard. When she went to visit Leia on Naboo, she would give them to her. But for now, that's where they belonged. She then launched the takeoff sequence and entered the hyperspace coordinates for her next destination.

OoooooO

Tatooine's twin suns were slowly descending on the dunes. The air here was dry and warm; the smells were different, mineral.

From the small plateau on which she had landed with the _Falcon_, Rey was observing the farm of Sovan Real with her binoculars. The mother and her son were checking, one after the other, the humidity vaporizers in the small perimeter around their home. The child was playing with a stick and hopping cheerfully around his mother. They looked happy. Rey also noticed that their speeder was brand new_—_the harvest must have been good. The young woman smiled, happy for their good fortune.

She stopped watching and turned back to the entrance to the canyon. She adjusted her turban around her head and began her ascent to Obi-wan Kenobi's hut.

Inside the cabin, everything was intact. The two goblets and two plates were still sitting untouched in the small sink, and Ben's shirt, which she had put on when she came here, was still curled up on the bathroom floor.

Then Rey went down the few steps leading to the living room, collapsed heavily on the seat, and let herself be overcome by disappointment and sadness. She really thought he would have taken refuge here, but she was wrong again. An irresistible urge to cry overwhelmed her and she closed her eyes, burying her face in her hands to prevent the tears from flowing.

_Come on Rey, come on…_ she castigated herself internally, taking a deep breath and raising her head.

And that's when she saw it, placed in the middle of the table in front of her. Incredulous, she delicately grabbed the little willow branch with her fingertips. How did it end up here? There were no willows on Tatooine.

Her eyes suddenly lit up when she finally realized what it meant. This branch was a message_—_a message for her. Ben had been there, and now she knew where to find him.

OoooooO

The few customers in the whitewashed tavern barely glanced up at her as she entered. While wandering the streets, she did not meet many people either. The village was peaceful, and she remembered finding it charming the first time she'd observed it from the heights of the mountain. Adarlon was a truly magnificent planet.

Luke's lightsaber was hidden in her bag. One of the rebels had picked it up from the royal office on Naboo, and returned it to her once on Arbra.

She'd landed her shuttle in the same place as they had when they'd first came here on board the _Falcon_, near the small clearing with the big willow. Then she'd gone down into the valley on foot.

She walked over to the old woman wiping glasses behind the counter, and the latter greeted her with a big smile.

"Good evening, young lady! What can I do for you?"

"Oh ... Good evening, yes, maybe you could help me. I'm looking for someone."

"You're talking to the right person! This tavern is a bit of a gathering place for all the members of the community, and I know everyone here," she replied, pointing to the group of villagers who were laughing and talking quietly in the back of the room.

"In fact, the man I'm looking for must have arrived recently. He is tall, dark-haired, with a scar on his cheek."

The old woman froze and suddenly looked at her with curiosity.

"Are you Rey?"

The scavenger's heart jumped into her throat.

"Yes, I…"

She could no longer speak, a whirlwind of emotions now preventing her from thinking clearly. Then a gleam of mischief lit up in the old woman's eyes.

"He is waiting for you there, in the house on the cliff, at the edge of the village."

Rey stammered a quick "thank you" and hurried out of the tavern.

The evening air was soft, and the white house stood out against the orange background of the sunset. Rey had run along the small stony path leading to the cliff. When she arrived in front of the small house, she was panting and her cheeks were reddened from the effort. She was so nervous. The door was wide open, and the young woman hesitated a moment before finally entering.

With a glance all around, she examined the place. It was warm and simply furnished.

On the table in the middle of the room was Ben's lightsaber. It had been dismantled, and next to the spare parts, Rey saw two white kyber crystals. Her heart raced again, and suddenly the young woman felt a familiar aura right behind her.

She dropped her bag to the floor and turned suddenly.

Ben was there, standing on the threshold.

His dark locks were a mess. He seemed to have run too. He was dressed in a light shirt and pants, and he was barefoot.

"You found me," he breathed.

"I found you," the young woman replied, trembling from head to toe.

She hardly dared to move, so overwhelmed was she by a flood of contradictory feelings. She resented him so much for leaving her like that, desperate and without news during these three interminable weeks, but she was also so happy to see him safe and sound.

But in a fraction of a second, everything was swept away as Rey threw herself forward and captured his lips with her own. She grabbed his shoulders and he hugged her tight against him, his tongue tasting hers eagerly. They were already drunk on each other, unable to stop.

"I'm sorry, really sorry," he mumbled as he kissed his way down the tender skin of her neck.

"I know, I know ..." Rey stammered. "You managed to escape the explosion …"

"I was piloting the ship which made the Kessel run in twelve parsecs," he replied, continuing to cover her with kisses.

The allusion made the young woman laugh, and her hands slipped slowly under his shirt. Ben then took a few seconds to look at her. She was finally there. Nothing could stop them from being together anymore.

Their clothes landed on the ground. When he grabbed her buttocks to lift her up, Rey circled his waist with her legs. Ben's lips met her throat and he kissed every inch of the scar that now crossed her chest. Rey squeezed his dark locks between her fingers and pulled, forcing him to tilt his head back, before claiming his mouth again. Ben then walked to the next room and lowered her gently to the bed. When they finally parted, they were both on fire. Rey slowly spread her legs so that Ben could move even closer. She'd missed so much the smell of his skin, the taste of his lips, his weight on her body… This moment was perfect, and his hard cock pressing against her core felt so good that she let out a sigh of deliverance.

Ben put his forehead on hers and slowly pushed into her as she dug her fingers into his biceps. Their hearts were beating in unison and their souls had merged.

The bond was wide open.

Ben had the most beautiful smile in the world, and Rey knew she was ready to do anything to see him smile for the rest of her life.

When Rey opened her eyes, morning rays were lighting up the interior of the house. Her hand slid across the mattress. The place next to her was empty but still warm from Ben's body.

They had made love all night. She stretched languorously before letting out a moan of contentment. She never thought she could ever feel this good one day. She was at peace, serene and fulfilled.

She got up and went to retrieve her clothes scattered in the living room. While getting dressed, she saw her stick leaning against the wall. She also discovered, on a shelf near the door, her rag doll and the brooch of her great-grandfather.

_But how…_

She glanced outside. Ben was sitting on the edge of the cliff, facing the ocean. He was watching the sun rise.

She hesitated for a moment before seizing the jewel and joining him outside.

Leia's son greeted her with a long sigh when she snuggled into his arms, settled between his legs, and pressed her back against his chest. She felt his budding beard rub against her cheekbone and the warmth of his body envelop her entirely. She would have stayed like this, without speaking, encircled in his embrace forever, but it was Ben who broke the silence first:

"I'm not going to Arbra with you," he whispered.

She replied with a simple nod and he continued.

"If I didn't contact you earlier, it's just because I wanted to give you time to think things through. I know that the Resistance means a lot to you. That your friends are there."

The young woman then gently stroked Ben's hand and wedged her head a little more under his chin.

"I can go back and see them whenever I want. All that matters to me now is being with you."

As soon as she said those words, Rey felt her lover's shoulders relax and his strong arms tighten around her.

"I found my belongings in the house. Did you get them from the Gungan refuge?"

Ben didn't answer right away. The sun had just emerged on the horizon.

"My mother lives on Naboo now. But you already know that."

"Yes, but how did _you_ know that she left Arbra for Naboo? It was two weeks ago."

"She called me. Through the Force. So I went there to see her. Together, we had a lot to discuss," he added.

The scavenger didn't want to rush him. If he wanted to talk about it, he should be able to do so without constraint.

They stayed quiet a few moments, and when Rey finally turned to face Ben, she saw that a tear had run down his cheek.

Rey knew that the mother and the son still had many things to settle between them, but she also knew that everything would be fine now. Ben and Leia still loved each other deeply, and time would do the rest.

Rey smiled at him and wiped away the wetness on his face with her fingertips. Then she told him what had happened since her return to Haven.

"Two days ago, I went back to Ahch-To," she explained. "I returned the Jedi books to the Lanai guardians, and I destroyed the holocron there."

"Is there nothing left?"

"Nothing."

"Good," Ben muttered.

This time he was the one soft and tender. He replaced a strand of Rey's hair behind her ear and kissed her temple. His fingers were warm against her cheek, his presence reassuring. She took the brooch from her pocket and looked at it for a moment, sliding her thumb over the golden metal.

"I can't deny who I am and where I come from. But now I have a new family, I have you, and my future belongs only to me."

Ben remained silent. He understood so well how she was feeling. When she finally moved, he released his grip to let her get up and watched her go to face the sea. She stood still for a moment before taking a deep breath and finally throwing the jewel into the ocean.

So he got up in turn to go stand by her side and take her hand in his.

The sun was rising slowly in the sky, gradually flooding the earth with its soft light. And while the two young people were admiring the view, the serene and grave voice of Luke echoed in the depths of their hearts:

"The Force will be with you."

And across the vastness of space, Leia's voice, charged with emotion and full of hope, reached them from Naboo to punctuate her brother's words.

"Always."

THE END

_Well ... It's really over this time. It's been a year since I started this fic and now that I see the word END written just above, I admit that I have a little pinch in my heart. It's ridiculous, I know. But writing this story was a real pleasure. And then you were there, girls, with your encouragement, your little words for each chapter. It was a real pleasure to have you with me throughout this journey. I can't thank you enough for your help, support and patience : Sonia, Emilie, my betas in the first place, Venice and of course you, Nancy who helped me with the translation. You were all amazing. Thank you also to all those who commented, my dear friends from the Frenching Reylo discord, and also to the silent readers, who followed this story and left kudos/reviews on FFnet, AO3 and Wattpad. _

_And above all, don't forget: REYLO IS CANON ! REYLO IS LIFE !_


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